3. Yanaguana Frictions
Yanaguana Frictions is a large-scale immersive installation reflecting on the 12,000+ year material and cultural history of the San Antonio River. Botello engineered seven sculptures out of Bexar-county limestone and glass that resonate recordings made with a hydrophone from several significant sites along the River — at the Headwaters/Blue Hole, the Pump House at Brackenridge Park, the heart of the Riverwalk, the water-powered grain mill at Mission San José, and the Espada Dam/acequia. Also featured — a community gathered multi-voice choral work (composed in Nahuatl, Spanish, German, and English; edited to amplify only the breaths between singing and speaking; engineered to sound through the walls of the site), field recordings of local cicadas, a digital projection of 16mm film (submerged blank into the River for the water to develop the reel), objects collected from walks along the 240 mile length of the River (petrified wood, clay pottery shards, glass, rusted metal, barbed wire), a ceramic sculpture of St. Anthony ("San Antonio"), limited edition zines, and prints of film stills. Commissioned by S.M.A.R.T. for their SA 300 San Antonio Tricentennial Celebration Residency.
