Renata Flores

Pachamama

Music video & Fashion films

Before it turned into a full-blown music video starring an up-and-coming Latin rap artist incarnating an Inca goddess to speak up about climate change while dressed in sustainable fashion, this was just our passion project. Our white whale. A self-invested project to make something rewarding, have full, unconditioned control of the artistic outcome, and, if possible, make an impact beyond our industry. We also wanted to do something related with our Latin-American heritage, but without all the Latin-American common places. Something true, con verdad. So we called Ana Tafur, renowned fashion designer with an eco-friendly brand named SAKE, and ranted about how we could crack this together.

There was no song. Actually, songwriting started after pitching our idea to Quechua trap queen, Renata Flores. Renata, 21, is part of a new generation of Peruvian artists making contemporary music in Spanish and Quechua, a 2.600 BC Amerindian language that originated in the central coast of Peru; whose songwriting not only embraces her century-deep roots, it also tackles the problems of today. The idea we pitched was to make a song about the Pachamama, Inca’s most sacred deity, Mother Nature. A few days later, Renata jumped in the project and embraced it as her own. In truth, she elevated it right from the start by suggesting a change: instead of a song about the Pachamama, let’s make a song made by the Pachamama. A protest song from nature to humankind. We had the backbone.

Treatment was a 3-way challenge. Starting with ours, we wanted to translate Renata’s creative process of juxtaposition to images. As her music is the result of mixing contemporary beats and genres with century-old languages and ancestral instruments, our intention was to play with extremes to find something true to her art. To make it so, Renata’s performance was key to embody a graceful but warrior-like Pachamama. Last but not least, SAKE designed looks that were as eco-friendly as the rest of their product range, but goddess-worthy. In other words: designing haute couture with sustainable fabrics and non-polluting techniques with a design team mainly composed of local indigenous women.

In late March ‘22 we traveled to Lima, Perú, to shoot Pachamama music video. We couldn’t be happier with the result.

Written & Directed by

David Carrizales

Artist

Renata Flores

Production Company

Binalogue

Our Role

Direction, Production & Post production

A goddess journey through the realm of humans.

Filming locations were not just spaces, they were part of the cast. We wanted to show the raw, unaltered beauty of nature, so we went to La Chira beach. Playing with visual contrast, the further Pachamama walked out of her realm, the stronger, more determined she looked. That’s why we took her to the pulsing streets of Callao in downtown Lima, and the local market of Trujillo, a man-made temple of consumerism. Speaking of temples, we couldn’t get our heads around why millions of people can kneel down and pray to religious figures that may take care of them in the great beyond while ignoring the planet that take so much care of them in the meantime.

So, we went to a “tienda de santería” (a religious shop) to make the Pachamama unignorable. Yes, it may be shocking to see an Inca goddess shouting at normal people, rapping between rows of skinned chickens in a market stall or posing as a Virgin with jaguar-sized nails. But perhaps we need to be shocked to act against climate change. It’s about time.

Dressing Mother Nature.
with sustainable fashion for planet Earth.

Barely seconds after joining the project SAKE had one idea in mind: designing a jacket out of fish skin. They had worked with local fishermen in the area that could provide them with real fish scales from sustainable sources, and they were already aware that giving a second life to wasted products is the way to go for a less polluting fashion. Their fit in the project was beyond perfect. Nevertheless, it was a back and forth creative process to check many boxes: each look had to reflect a different side of Pachamama.

From nurturer to warrior, deep-rooted in indigenous cultures and rites (in which Ana, SAKE's founder, is a scholar); all materials and techniques needed to be eco-friendly to push the environmental agenda beyond; they had to make Renata stand out without overshadowing her, and, more importantly, giver her total freedom of movement. SAKE came up with 4 different looks.

Named after a major water spirit from the Yorubas. Ecru-colored, alpaca-wool dress with organic linen sleeves and virgin wool braids with root-shaped patterns. Nose ring inspired by the shamanic culture of Kene. Yemayá represents the organic shapes and ancestral roots of nature.

Alpaca wool and linen are two of the most eco-friendly fabrics worldwide due to the limited water and energy resources needed for their production. As long as they remain undyed, wool and linen are also 100% biodegradable.

Named after one the greatest and most majestic fishes in the Amazon river. Crochet jacket covered with natural fish scales. Organic linen, natural-tinted skirt and top. Paiche embodies the everflowing life of nature when you use and respect all of its resources. Fish skin was obtained from sustainable resources in the Amazon, working with Pucallpa fishermen to protect the natural lagoons.

Named after the last Inca hanging bridge that still stands today. One-sleeved, vegetable leather jacket with scottish-patterned, organic cotton skirt, strapless body and boots. Q’eswachaka personifies Pachamama’s resistance. The hanging bridge keeps standing thanks to the effort of local men and women that still celebrate the minka, a mutual ritual to thank Pachamama for her loving care. Jacket was colored using organic dyes only and the organic cotton skirt was woven on a classic treadle loom by Junin artisans.

Named after the Orisha who leads the dead. Yewá, known as the wise warrior, symbolizes female purity and wisdom. Cape dress made of organic, hand painted linen from the Yanesha ethnicity in the Peruvian Amazonia. Decorated with jaguar and snake skin patterns to protect the Pachamama from the dangers of the jungle, just like the ancient hunters did in the Andean cloud forest. Hair sculpting and jewelry are inspired from ancestral tribal rites where the ruler was characterized as a supernatural being.