Honoring Mother Earth ~ Tonantzin Tlalli ~ Coatlaxopeuh ~ Guadalupe

A message from our comadre & Co-Founder Maria del Carmen.

Dec 12th is a popular day in Mexican culture as a day to honor the Virgen de Guadalupe. An image that comes with many names, representing mixed emotions of colonization, catholicism, culture, sadness and pride. 

As the daughter of Maria Cristina Martinez, Acolhua from Texcoco Mexico, we grew up seeing her image (a 6 foot tall framed image) on the daily. As children, attending Catholic mass in Barrio Garfield, knowing who she was, taught to pray above anything else. My early detachment from the Catholic church (I knew at about 8 years old that it wasn’t my way) had me asking many questions and according to my parents “rebelling”. 

As years went on, attending ceremonies among our community of the danza, beautiful memories of sacred mountains and the desert, we grew to love this day as a day to connect with the land, acknowledge our animal and plant relatives that sustain us. Sitting up with a fire going all night listening to sacred songs, languages known and unknown and being thankful to Tonantzin, our mother and giver of all that nourishes us. Learning the disciplina, discipline of what it is to be a ceremonial person. Learning to mess up and that at the end of the day, we give thanks to our mother. Danzas would be offered beautiful flowers, offerings of chocolate and candles to honor her. Sacred copal sending our prayers up to the ancestors and thanking her…. Always thank her for our lives. 

Over the years, I began seeing Tonantzin for who she also represents, her origins name of Coatlaxopeauh, Coatlicue, Cihuacoatl…. A representation of serpents that crawl on land, the holder of life and also death. The female serpent, the serpent skirt… These names describe the image of a very old, ancestral symbol that was the true representation of mother earth. Catholicism and colonization changed her image to what we now see of the Virgen de Guadalupe. 

Understanding that our story in Mexico, especially for the Tenochca or those that evolved around Lake Texcoco, has so many layers to it - from the academic lens, to the archeological lens, to the healing and ceremony lens… it’s complicated! Yes, we have been angry. Yes, we have actively fought against the systems and denounce them but I have chosen to heal. Teach my children our culture, acknowledge their lineage and how to heal from our traumas. 

We know what Catholicism did, we know what colonization did and has continued to do, but what I do know is that my mami prayed to her nonetheless. She had faith in her and I had faith in my mami. Our elders prayed and continue to pray to her and she represents the battles, the victories, the sadness, messiness of life and the beauty we want our children to see.

Tonantzin tlalli, Coatlicue, Alcolhuaque, Maria Cristina Martinez… Tlazohcamati Huei

-Maria Del Carmen Parra Cano

Tlazocamati Earthy

A special dedication written by Maria del Carmen Parra Cano

A few days ago, the communities of danzantes & ceremonial circles throughout the Southwest were heartbroken & saddened to hear of the sudden passing of one of our beloved elders and capitana de la danza for Grupo Yolloincuauhtli, Alida Earthfeather Montiel. The community is mourning the loss of such a beautiful, compassionate and resilient being.

I was honored to have been introduced to ceremonies at the guidance of Earthy (among many others) that has woven together the foundation for my community/ceremonial and healing work over the past 25 years. The first time I entered the temazcal/sweat lodge was a sunrise ceremony with Earthy & Socorro Bernasconi when I was only 16 years old in Guadalupe, Az. That was just the beginning!

At 18, I found myself at Arizona State University working on my undergraduate degree and reconnected with Earthy again after I heard the drum and ayayotes in the basement of the memorial union. As women on the red road, we would pray together in tipi, sweat and in the danza over the next 20+ years. 

Years would go by and Earthy was always so kind, welcoming and always open to sharing with community. I am fortunate to have been honored to have the opportunity to drum, share songs and dance with Earthy throughout the years. 

Pictured: Left- Earthy, Center- Carmen and Right - Benita (Two amazing cihuame & temachtiani to so many on earth. They are now both now in the spirit world.)

Many years later, the Cihuapactli Collective invited Earthy to share about her work in community, reviving coming of age ceremonies and the much needed support for urban Indigenous women around birth & healing. 

She was always so supportive of the work of the Cihuapactli Collective, we will truly miss her and the medicina she shared with so many. Our deepest condolences to her family and the family of danzantes, her loss is definitely felt. 

Tlazocamati ~ Gracias ~ Thank you, Earthy for the years of activism and prayer. May your spirit soar with the ancestors. Ometeotl

Rest as Resistance: Reconnecting with the Elements The 6th Annual Ancestral Womb Wellness Gathering

This year we celebrated our 6th Annual Ancestral Womb Wellness Gathering in South Phoenix. Our theme was Rest as Resistance: Reconnecting with the Elements. After year’s of growing and working in our community, we realized just how important rest is in our day to day lives. Not just to recharge, but simply to be and support us in our healing as indigenous peoples.

Thank you to Denise Amaya, the artist who created our beautiful image to represent our rest theme this year.

Although our gatherings are focused on Black, Indigenous and LGBTQ voices and experiences, this year we made the intention to open our space up for cis-men and those outside of the BIPOC experience. This idea had a lot to do with how cis-men in our families and our allies and extended community have supported the collective work. In addition, we’ve recognized that cis-men in particular, are in great need of a space for their healing as well. Although things were not centered around their experience, we decided to welcome them to our forward facing space so they could listen and learn in hopes for them to connect and create their own space for healing.

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Another thing we intentionally carved space for, is a message regarding the use of the word womb in our gathering name.

As we prepared for the gathering and focused on the theme of rest, we found it appropriate to focus on the elements: water, air, earth and fire. The elements always help ground us in the work we do, and they are present in every which way. Our first day was focused on water and we learned of how to support ourselves in self-care to rest. The second day was focused on air and we heard stories about loss and release and learned of the importance of community care. The third day was focused on earth and we came together in community to sync our bodies with our mind and spirits through drumming, song, and dance. And the fourth day, which was actually our 7 year anniversary Gala, we focused on fire and the ways in which this collective has grown and will continue to grow as we tend to our fires.

Community came together each day to hold space for themselves and each other. We created pods with mats and a few chairs around so people could gather in small groups. At each pod, we had the elements present with lit candles, beautiful wooden decor and medicine they could place over the fire to help center themselves as they listened to each speaker.

Our presenters provided a wealth of knowledge for community to learn from and apply in their own lives. We brought together Black Indigenous voices to speak on how vital rest is in our every day lives.

We have many thanks to give for this sacred gathering. Thank you to our volunteers for all the help throughout these full four days. Thank you to our translators for your support in making sure language justice is a part of every experience we hold space for. Thank you to Phil our DJ for providing music and a sound system, a first for us. Thank you to our presenters for your time and the wealth of knowledge you provided. Thank you to our healers and those who tended to our altars to support the spiritual wellbeing of our community. Thank you to all the behind the scenes staff who helped unload, set up, clean up and pack up at the end of the night. Thank you to our staff who supported the event by filling in gaps and being an extra set of hands. Thank you to our childcare team for taking care of our children so lovingly and mindfully. Thank you to the collective comadres for showing up and supporting in whatever was needed. Thank you our Azkame/Co-directors for conceptualizing and planning this 6th annual Ancestral Womb Wellness Gathering! Tlazocamati!

2021 Miccailhuitl Dia de Muertos

On November 1st we held a Miccailhuitl or Dia de Muertos gathering at The Orchard with comadritas and family members of the collective. We held space for each other and our passed loved ones on a beautiful altar put together by the azkahtl, the aunties who coordinated the event. We sang songs and laid down prayers by the fire and shared comforting foods like pan dulce, corn mush and a lemongrass lavender tea. Intimate and warm.

6 Year Anniversary

October 13th we celebrated our 6 year anniversary at Spaces of Opportunity in South Phoenix. It was a while since we’d seen many faces from our collective together so to be in an intimate (Covid mindful) space together felt comforting. It brought us back to our beginning days when we’d gather to be in comadrismo with one another. We danced under the stars and saw our children run and play after breaking open a piñata in celebration of these years growing together.

Such an enlightening evening with everyone. Thank you for being a part of our community. If you have any photos or video from the event you would like to share with us so we can add to our archives, we would greatly appreciate it. You can send them over at cihuapactlicollective@gmail.com. Tlazocamati!