At Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory, ceremonial dances that hearken back to the students’ indigenous ancestral traditions are a crucial part of their education.
Indigenous peoples explore their heritage from the classroom to the kitchen in Los Angeles.
Some might say intentionality is a virtue at Anahuacalmecac Prep, where the students hope to build a successful future and a deeper connection to their ancestral heritage. The public charter school opened nearly 20 years ago in Los Angeles, and since then, has remained committed to its mission to teach academics alongside indigenous culture and wisdom.
“It’s important for our students to know where they come from, and that’s what that identity should reflect,” Aguilar said. “When we use labels like Hispanic and Latino and even Latinx, we’re erasing the history of each family, of each nation and of each person in a way that is part of the overall erasure of our history.”Marcos Aguilar is the executive director of the Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory of North America.
“Being able to know more about my culture and know more about my people and be rooted in, that’s really what helps me grow,” said Axayacatzi Kuauhtzin, another student. “A tree can’t grow unless it has roots, so being able to know about my family, about my history, about my people really helps me develop and be able to express myself better — express my identity better.”
“Nahuatl is a maternal language as well as Spanish for our students and in our community,” Aguilar said. “It’s one of, I would say, a dozen native languages that are spoken by several communities in Los Angeles County, and one of 68 native languages in Mexico that are alive and well.”Danys “La Mora” Pérez Prades, of New York City, also believes people cannot know who they are unless they look to their past.
The dance company’s mission is to “preserve our identity, our culture, our traditional dance [and] our folklore,” Perez Prades said. After preservation, she says her mission is to expose the culture to others. “Because I want people to know I exist. I want people to know who I am because what you don’t know, you don’t respect, and I want respect.”
“They brought slaves to work everywhere. All of Latin America is the same story, so they brought their culture with them. … This same rhythm, it’s in the huapango in Mexico. It’s also in Brazil in the Samba.” Her daughter, Liethis Hechavarria, who also dances with Oyu Oro, said she has experienced the same misunderstandings. And like her mother, she said she’s never had to choose between the different pieces that make up who she is.
“All this flavor, right, that is Africa, and that is what really makes me grounded when I dance,” she said. She then performed what she called a Bantu movement, swinging her arms and pumping her chest. “All that power, all that beauty within the movement is important to me, and it relates me with Africa and with Cuba. I would never be able to separate that.”
“With the summer protests, when people would be like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve never seen so many Latinos,’ I’m like, ‘Where have you been looking?’ We’ve always been part of the struggles of this country. We’ve always been in solidarity with each other, especially around racial justice, economic justice and gender justice.”
Serrato says her focus on indigenous foods came out of a desire to understand her own identity “and why it’s even important to know who I am.”
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