The coca plant is one of the most misunderstood psychotropic plants in the world. It has been cultivated and revered in Abya Yala for more than 8,000 years. For the peoples of the Inca Empire, it was currency, a deity, and a vital food source. To this day, coca is not merely a commodity but a sacred being, a cornerstone of political and cultural resistance, and integral to economic and spiritual practices. Yet the plant remains among the most stigmatized: persecuted, criminalized, and almost exclusively associated with cocaine.

Coca Assembly is the first chapter of an ongoing series of artworks by Laura Huertas Millán that investigate the story of the plant, before and beyond its prohibition. Presented at transmediale as a poetic lecture, intertwining sonic recordings, encounters with coca users, healers, activists, and essayistic notes, this 40 minutes juntanza (gathering) proposes a moment of listening and gathering with and around the coca plant.