“So I was the new flower that had to flourish and be that tall”

The 15th annual Philadelphia Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration will be held at Bartram’s Garden on Sunday, October 12, 11am–5pm. We sat down with the event co-host and one of the co-founders of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac, a Mesoamerican Indigenous cultural organization and Aztec dance troupe. We discussed Indigenous identity, his experience building community in Philly, and the ways that foodways connect us.  

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

Cavhanah All right, let’s start by introducing yourself.

Tletxayacoatl Ok, well, I am a Native descendant from the Tlaxcalan people from Mexico. My Native name is Tletxayacoatl, translated as “snake with the face on fire” We want to take back these names, especially on these type of celebrations or commemorations that are coming, you know, because most people will see somebody who looks like [a] Juan or José, Enrique, Eduardo, these names that we have are useful now, but we don’t know the real other backgrounds. And sometimes you find people who still have Native last names with some Spanish first names, but the idea of this is to remember people before European presence here on this continent after the mass migration that happened after 1492. 

So as a Native from Mexico and [like] a lot of different other Natives from south of the border, even from their own continent, countries where they come from is a big diversity of Natives. Same thing here in the United States: you have many Natives, different groups, cultures, and beliefs. Everybody says “all the Spanish speakers,” but we are not really Spanish speakers: we just speak the language for many reasons and for many logical and illogical transitions of time and realities.  

But this celebration—it is to celebrate and recognize the diversity of all these Natives from the continent living in the city of Philadelphia. And of course, the first people of here too, because that’s the concept.  

And well, I am the founder and Executive Director of Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac. We started in 2003 as the first Aztec dance troupe. Now, we moved into non-profit, working with other people like up at Bartram’s, for the last seven years having this celebration there.  

When people migrated, they were not allowed anymore to keep their old roots. So why we cannot celebrate something from who we are as human beings, you know, at least for one day? So that’s the intention of this festival. 

CVH Let me jump back a little bit, that’s a question actually I wanted to ask. So you were talking about the diversity of the part of the world we call Latin America and the Caribbean. There’s so many histories and diversity, like you said, in the same way as the U.S.: there’s different groups of Indigenous people. [For me] as a Puerto Rican, in the U.S. you are just “Latino/a/e, whatever.” We weren’t really taught about the erasure of Indigenous culture here. So for you growing up, is this something that your family also instilled in you, your Indigenous identity, connecting with it? Or was this something that was more of a journey that you took as you got older?

TLX Both in some ways, because it depends. Like for example, I am not religious. I’m not Catholic. My grandmother, I grew up with her from my dad’s side, she did not worry, did not push, did not care about going to church. We went two or three times a year for the blessing of saints or maybe the virgin of their town, but that’s because you could go and see family, but we didn’t go normally.  

So that did help me a little bit, but there was no showing [of Indigenous culture] to me because I was born in Mexico City. My family is from Veracruz, in a town called Xico, and migrated there before I was born. My dad arrived there when he was like 7, 8, 6. So my grandmother spoke Spanish, but broken Spanish [she also spoke Nahuatl and Tojolabal]. My dad did speak Spanish because he was migrated soon into a city, but he also did not finish all education. So I was the new flower that had to flourish and be that tall. 

Once a year, sometimes twice, we went for a couple of weeks back to the town. That’s where I saw things. I saw more Native family. I understood where we come from, but as I soon go back to Mexico City, I was just a Mexico City kid.  

But of course, you face some type of discrimination. I saw how some people will treat my grandmother, as a Native, darker skin, different type of hair, even in a family who was mixed with lighter skin. You learn about Mexican things in school, but they don’t tell you more deeply as now. Even now kids are learning again the Native languages in some schools. But when I was a little kid in Mexico, no, it did not happen.  

Then I grew up. Then you have some understanding, then you see other things happening: things that were so heavier that it created an awareness. Well, when I came to United States, that’s where I faced more challenges of cultural understanding as a Native, or “Mexican,” as a “Hispanic,” as a “Latino.” And that’s when I went a little bit deeply on to figure out and rescue and create this thing. But no, it was not that easy and now people when they come to the U.S. from towns, they say they learn more about Native things here than in Mexico.
 

CVH In the time that you’ve been in Philly, how has it been building community here?  

TLX Let me answer like this way, because it’s funny. Sometimes I talk to people and people say, “Hey, you’re a gringo already, right?” because I’m so adapted and other people said looks like you hang out before with a lot of white people, right? Well, when I came to Philly, I came by opportunity. So I end up here in West Philly, 48th and Baltimore in 1998. And yes, my universe at the time I arrived was white people of all different groups around. Then, something that really shocked me when I came to U.S.: I was in downtown doing something and you know when you come to Southwest on the weekends you have to wait for the trolley on 40 and Market. So ok, it’s my first time taking this trip around this time. And yes, I saw the population after 30th Street Station change. I look and all my surrounding was a lot of African American people. I realized I was in another environment of the USA.  

When first I came to Philly, a lot of houses were destroyed here. It looked like it was a war––then I understood that maybe it was another type of war that happened here. I was discovering the beauty of these old buildings and saw the lack of Native population [here]. I went to 2nd and Chestnut, and I saw from outside that they used to have a building. It was like a museum or something. I saw the sign, but it was closed, right? That was the only place I saw.  

This is like 27 years ago. Then around 2001, that’s when Mexicans start coming to Philly after 9/11. Before, I spent almost four years not speaking Spanish. If I want to speak Spanish, I needed to go to North Philly with the Puerto Ricans or call some family members, some friend in Mexico. I could say “¿hola cómo estas?” to some people. I wanted to speak Spanish, but it was not like that. 

CVH Was that was that like a lonely feeling for you or just different? It’s hard to express yourself, it can be hard to truly feel like and be yourself in a new language. Sometimes when I’m trying to speak in Spanish, the ideas I want to say in my head are hard to communicate out loud. So was that isolating for you? 

TLX  Yeah. It was very isolating, just not because of communication, but because also looking at the reality of being somewhere else. This was like I removed myself from one planet to another planet and I ended up like, “Ok, now I have to understand different sounds to comprehend [in] my brain, what messages are given to me.” Like, the first time somebody said, “Do you want a falafel?” Falafel? Alright . . . and then I look: Oh, Middle Eastern food, Arabic food. OK! Yeah, they give it to me and I said, “Oh, to me this looks like a taco. Like same concept, just something else, you know, with fava beans.” And then I discovered that Mexican tacos al pastor are [like] shawarma tacos! Yeah, that was nice. 

And when I go back to the question that you made, at the time there was not much room to talk about who I was, who I could be, home. Any type of support, not just because I’m an immigrant, but that other support, it wasn’t there. I’m telling you [even] the food, it wasn’t there. Yeah, it was isolation, basically. 

CVH Now, like today, what places or people in Philly feel like home to you? 

TLX Hmm. Well. Can I go back to an answer I gave you first? I was talking to this cousin of this Mexican friend I know that is a lot younger and they have a similar question and I said, “Well it is different for me because now I have seven years more here from where I was born.” I live now in Southwest Philly for the last 15 years, and I left my area where I was born in Mexico when I was, say, 17 years old, so I have been here almost the same time now in Southwest as I was in Mexico.  

So my mind is like if you play two things [at the same time], [like] of the bicycles and the wheels, and the gears are like: one thing is always like “This is who you were” and “This is who you are”, but it’s like it becomes to be one full movement, but two different concepts.  

I love to have different type of breakfast every day. I’m not used to doing any more Mexican breakfast, not to discriminate, but it’s true. 

CVH What’s your favorite American breakfast? 

TLX Well, I eat very different. The other day I eat Ethiopian food for breakfast. I just like it. 

CVH Oh, oh, wow. That’s a real West Philly experience, Southwest Philly experience. 

TLX I love the Italian sandwiches too, like the real Italian sandwiches, all the types of Arabic food. We have African food around here and Indian. I like fufu. Yeah, but when I cook at my house, kind of the Mexican influence returns a lot. But I mix, you know, more of it. Like, I have some leftovers of the injera bread and you know chilaquiles? Yeah, I made my chilaquiles with injera bread.

CVH Oh, that’s really cool. That’s probably one of the first times something like that was created from fusions of those cultures.  

It’s interesting to think about South Philly. We talked about how [parts of] South Philly are historically known for Italian immigrants and Italian American culture and now there’s also a lot of Mexican and Central American communities there. Think about Italian food, and the tomato as one of the staples of Italian cuisine, since tomato actually comes from South America. So even again, like you said, this fusion that happens over years and years. 

TLX And like the rice, same thing with the rice: there was no rice here and you know, we have rice in the Mexican cuisine now.  

 It’s hard for me not to say Philadelphia is not my home. I have traveled going to visit someplace, so on. I always return to Philly. I grew up on the southwest part of Mexico. I am living in the southwest part of Philly.   

CVH I want to shift to talking a little bit more about the Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration that’s coming up. The dance performances are such a big part of the celebration, so people are excited for that. What other things can people look forward to when they come? And how can people who want to get involved support your organization?  

TLX Well, this year we will be honoring Song Bird, who passed away a few months ago. She is the mother of Vaughanda Hilton. We will have Aztec dance and we have Native Nations Dance Theater, who do a diversity of Native dances. We have a new small group from Delaware, a Lenape group. They are training some kids to dance too. So it’s going to be like a new generation of dancers.  

There’s going to be tables with information. For the first time we have Original American Farm: they are local farmers. Kids’ activities too, like The Clay Studio, bicycles. An Indigenous Brazilian herbalism expert from] Do Centro Da Mãe Terra talk about their medicine, healing and how to use plants. John Heinz Sanctuary offering plants and seeds.  We will have a tipi too. We always share some food for people who’s going to be there.  

We try to give different entertainments and different levels to people for that day because it’s a party, it’s a celebration. It’s not a pow wow, it’s not a ceremony. It has that concept we respect, but let’s celebrate. 

To learn more, volunteer or donate, visit www.ollinyoliztlicalmecac.org

This interview was featured in the print edition of the October 2025 Southwest Globe Times newspaper, now available for free in the Bartram’s Garden Welcome Center and in the surrounding neighborhood.