Tu'un Dali

This is our first episode of Tuun Dali after nearly 2 year of not posting. Come and learn about our work with the Undocu Indigenous Fund, a solidarity aid project for the Undocumented Indigenous Migrants of Los Angeles, California. 

The organizational efforts by Indigenous Oaxacan communities in Los Angeles have had a ripple effect in the United States. One of the most visible and long-standing events organized by Indigenous Oaxacans is the Guelagetza. Miriam Lopez and Raul Cortez share their experience being at the precipice of the Oaxacan organizing movement that would change the face of Oaxacalifornia. 

In this episode, we have a conversation with Alida Yath, an indigenous Q’eqchi’ interpreter who joins us to talk about her journey as an interpreter in the United States. Alida is among the only trained interpreters from Q’eqchi to Spanish and English in the country. She has proven that the life of indigenous peoples is important to her role as an interpreter since she prepares profoundly before she takes an interpretation case. She is a strong indigenous woman that is capable of speaking in multiple languages transforming a message from English or Spanish into her community’s worldview. We want share a trigger warning for this episode. 

In this episode of Tu'un Dali, we shared space with Lyndsea Reed to talk about her experience growing up Black, Indigenous and Queer in a racist and homophobic society. She addresses the challenges she faced in navigating Brown and Black spaces as a Black Queer woman and her journey towards embracing both, her Indigenous and Black identity. 

This episode is about the resistance and organization of the indigenous Coca people in the community of Mezcala, Jalisco. Rocio Moreno joins us to talk about the resistance of her community against the racist campaigns of extermination on behalf of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. She talks about women's participation in the collective organization of Mezcala, as well as the importance of the collective memory of her community to keep alive their existence as indigenous peoples. She also emphasized the need to bring awareness on the ecological disaster that are happening in her territory and the need to stop these transnational projects in the midst of Mexico’s so-called “fourth transformation". 

Enjoy this bonus episode that is brought to you by the Cognate Collective with music from the Mixtec Region and the voices of migrant Mixtec women in Tijuana that share their stories of migration. Our work was featured in their exhibition and we are happy to share with you all!

In this episode we have a conversation with Yasnaya Aguila, an Ayuujk writer, researcher, linguist and a water protector. We conversed about gender and women's participation in the organization of celebrations of her town. We also talked about the migration of indigenous Oaxacan communities and the creation of imaginary territories with strong organization beyond borders that allow us to heave deep connections to identities and community. Also this episode is in Spanish. 

A conversation with Policarpo Chaj , a community organizer, K'iche' interpreter and executive director of MayaVision an indigenous Guatemalan organization in Los Angeles. This episode cover an array of topics from the challenges of interpretation to the forced displacement of indigenous communities from Guatemala and the indigenous unaccompanied minors at the US/Mex border. We would like to let our listeners know that there is sensitive issues discussed in this episode. Also this episode is in Spanish. 

Na Syika Nda’vi: Los que andan por tierras lejanas, en una conversacion con Laura Velasco tocamos el tema de los migrantes mixtecos en Baja California y California siguiendo la conversación sobre Oaxacalifornia y los procesos organizativos de las organizaciones migrantes indígenas. En este episodio tocamos temas sobre: migración indígena, trabajadores indígenas, la mujer, identidad y la lucha por la representación propia de los pueblos en ambos lados de la frontera. 

Oaxacalifornia is a concept that Oaxacan communities are using to contextualize their stories of migration from Oaxaca, to Baja California and California as well as the political and cultural movements of revindication of who we are as indigenous peoples. Yet, the idea is taking multiple journeys which has created different conversation in various platforms. In this first episode of the second season of Tu’un Dali we are having a conversation of the idea of #Oaxacalifornia, the past, the present and our vision to the future. Join us!

Do you live in Los Angeles? Have you attended  the Guelaguetza or the Calenda organized by the Oaxacan community in the streets of LA? If so, we have a surprise for you, in this episode we invited one of the main organizers of these cultural events to share herstory, Ester Hernandez is a powerful Zapotec mujer chingona who serves her community as a cultural organizer for some of the most important events for the indigenous migrant communities from Oaxaca in LA. If you don’t live in LA we invite you to learn about how these Oaxacan events are reivindicating indigenous migrant identities as well as serving as a political statement of the migration of indigenous Oaxacan communities across borders.  

Hoy (Agosto 9) celebramos el día internacional de los pueblos indígenas y que mejor manera de celebrar este día que hacerlo escuchando una conversación entre mujeres indígenas. Celerina Sanchéz es poeta ñuu savi y nos habla sobre su caminar en la poesía y lo que ha logrado hacer. No olvides quedarte hasta el final de este episodio para escuchar algo de su nuevo CD.

In this episode Betina Cruz, Zapotec from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and a member of the Council of Indigenous Governance (CIG) in Mexico. She talks about the fight to protect land and water in Juchitán (Zapotec Territory) and the challenges they face with the arrival of AMLO and his 4th transformation. This episode is in Spanish, disfruta! 

 In this episode we have a conversation with Javier Martinez Morales, a young talented Zapotec musician whose journey started with the Oaxacan brass bands in Los Angeles. The bands proved to be fundamental to his careers in classical music. Now he's gearing up for his 17 city tour through Mexico. He shares the importance of embracing and celebrating his Zapotec identity in all spaces and his own personal journey in recognizing his differences as a strength. 

In this episode we have a conversation with Mare Advertencia Liríka and Mixe Represent about their projects, the importance of delivering a conscious message through the power of words and their rap philosophy. 

In our new mini segments, Indigenous Artist/Creators we are sharing our favorite artist with you all. From writers to musicians to theorist, so be on the look out for these segments. For the first installment we will be sharing the music of Mare Advertencia Lirka.

In this episode we have a conversation with Claudio Hernandez who identifies as a Na Savi (Mixtec) from San Juan Mixtepec that grew up in Santa Maria, California. He shares his experience as a Queer Na Savi in California’s Central Coast and how his identity was shaped in a predominantly Indigenous agriculture town. There is also an excerpt from the Ñuu Savi poet Celerina Sanchez from the FIOB’s Indigenous literature conference in LA. Along with music by the Institute intercultural Calmécac. 

In this episode Mario Luna Romero, a member of the Yaqui/Yoreme tribe and a spokesperson of the Council of Indigenous Governance (CIG in Mexico) talks about the fight to protect water in Yaqui territory and the challenges they face with the arrival of the new government in Mexico. This episode is in Spanish, enjoy! 

In this part of the book we talk about the new generation of Oaxacalifornians, identity and the vision for this book and work that need to be done. Enjoy! 

A retrospective look at book Indigenous Mexican Migrants with the editors Gaspar Rivera Salgado and Johnathan Fox. We discuss the collaborative process of putting together the book and working alongside community members