The Siren of Scrap Metal
99% Invisible13 Juni 2023

The Siren of Scrap Metal

Amid the noisy bustle of Mexico City, there is a particularly iconic sound echoing on repeat in the background. This recording blares from trucks that cruise the streets all across this massive city. The crews inside are looking to buy old household items and appliances to fix and resell or to just sell for scrap. Basically, they’re scrap metal haulers, and the recording is their pitch to prospective sellers. Their pitch culminates in "o algo de fierro viejo que vendan," which basically means “or any old metal thing you’re selling.” This last bit has become the recording’s namesake: fierro viejo, literally “old iron.”

How this recording (and its subsequent remixes for live performances and otherwise) managed to achieve icon status in Mexico is a story of an unlikely alchemy: a family that, through grit, talent and a bit of luck, transmuted scrap metal into poetry, music, and joy.

The Siren of Scrap Metal

Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.

Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(781)

The Known Unknown

The Known Unknown

The tradition of the Tomb of the Unknowns goes back only about a century, but it has become one of the most solemn and reverential monuments. When President Reagan added the remains of an unknown serv...

6 Mars 201945min

Usonia Redux

Usonia Redux

Frank Lloyd Wright changed the field of architecture, and not just through his big, famous buildings. Before designing many of his most well-known works, Wright created a small and inexpensive yet bea...

26 Feb 201939min

Beneath the Ballpark

Beneath the Ballpark

In the 1950s, Los Angeles was an up-and-coming city but wasn’t quite there yet. City leaders were looking for a way to boost Los Angeles's profile as a world class city and also give Angelenos somethi...

20 Feb 201930min

National Sword

National Sword

Where does your recycling go? In most places in the U.S., you throw it in a bin, and then it gets carted off to be sorted and cleaned at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). From there, much of it is ...

13 Feb 201941min

The Secret Lives of Color

The Secret Lives of Color

Here at 99% Invisible, we think about color a lot, so it was really exciting when we came across a beautiful book called The Secret Lives of Color by Kassia St. Clair It’s this amazing collection of s...

5 Feb 201944min

The Tunnel

The Tunnel

In May of 1990, law enforcement raided a warehouse in Douglas, AZ and a private home across the border in Agua Prieta, Mexico. Connecting the two buildings, they found a tunnel, more sophisticated tha...

30 Jan 201946min

Crude Habitat

Crude Habitat

Santa Barbara, California, is a famously beautiful place, but if you look offshore from one of the city's many beaches, you'll see a series of artificial structures that stand out against the natural ...

23 Jan 201935min

Atomic Tattoos

Atomic Tattoos

In the early 1950s, teenage students in Lake County, Indiana, got up from their desks, marched down the halls and lined up at stations. There, fingers were pricked, blood was tested and the teenagers ...

16 Jan 201934min

Populärt inom Business & ekonomi

framgangspodden
varvet
badfluence
rss-jossan-nina
svd-tech-brief
rss-borsens-finest
rss-svart-marknad
uppgang-och-fall
rss-dagen-med-di
borsmorgon
avanzapodden
fill-or-kill
lastbilspodden
rss-inga-dumma-fragor-om-pengar
kapitalet-en-podd-om-ekonomi
tabberaset
rss-kort-lang-analyspodden-fran-di
bathina-en-podcast
affarsvarlden
market-makers