Ancient Connections (English)

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In the gardens of the Museo La Tertulia in Cali stands a great tree of the Samán species. Over the centuries it has resisted the weather, changing seasons and the fleeting lives of the humans that built the city on its roots. It experienced the construction of the museum, the developments in its surroundings, sensing the flow of life around it. Each of these transformations it commits to its memory – a silent observer, not judging, just sensing.

The Samán tree is a special tree – it changes its gender depending on its needs. Oftentimes, narratives about nature are used as an argument to label genders and sexualities that deviate from the heteronormative as “unnatural” – even though there are countless examples in the natural world that show us otherwise. The piece offers an introduction to the discourse on gender and gender identity in nature.