Heteronormative times call for deconstructive measures. One of these measures has been the use of inclusive language, which has been the source of great controversy with even the Royal Spanish Academy refusing to acknowledge the evolution of language—an evolution required in these times that necessitate more and more openness for all genders.
In an attempt to solve this dilemma of gender and inclusion in the Spanish language, where masculine terms predominate, two artists have created a new vowel. Artist Mario García Torres, originally from Coahuila, and typographer Aldo Arillo, from Monterrey, began working on the letter’s design at the beginning of 2021. The vowel they created, called “secte,” tries to solve the problem of gendered language in Spanish. A conjunction of “a,” “e,” and “o,” it represents a new letter that has no gender—a sixth (sexta) vowel.
Torres initiated this project as part of the exhibition “La poética del regreso” (“The Poetics of the Return”) at the MARCO museum (El museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey), which reopened its doors on March 13, 2022. The exhibition included a sculpture representing the new vowel. This was without a doubt a highly anticipated opening in Monterrey after the Ministry of Health permitted the reopening of museums in the city.
To create the new letter “secte,” the artists had to rely on different characteristics such as legibility, harmony, and rhythm—things that have been lacking in other attempts at inclusive characters like the “X” and the @ sign.
Currently, this letter is only available in the font Neo Leon by Arillo. It can be requested by email to the typographer at aldoarillo@gmail.com.