Tonatiuh Icalaquianpan

(Nahuatl Greeting) Good day to all of you here.
My name is Natalia (Natalie) Lizeth,
Lopez Lopez.

I am a student at primary school
Prof. Rodolfo de Leon Garza
and I am... proudly of indigenous origin!¹

I'm thankful for granting me an opportunity
to participate in this photography contest
"A Citizen's Arrow Shot,"
organized by (Mexico State) Nuevo Leon's
Electoral State Commission.

The topic I will be touching upon
is very important.
I feel the topic as my very own.

We live in a mega-diverse country.
So many cultures become a mixture
of quite singular traditions and customs
that make us a unique and special country.

Mexico...
One of the countries in the world
possessing a great ethnic diversity
and an indigenous [Anahuac] population.

I wonder...
who was the person tasked with
selecting the topic for this contest.
"Multiculturalism in Nuevo Leon State,"
but I'm gratefully thankful because of
this opportunity to create awareness
--and to convey--
some of our cultures
to a greater audience.

My roots are of indigenous origin!
I belong to one of those cultures
which are a minority in this society;²
I belong to 'the marias' ³ whom --
on the streets -- are "pointed at" ⁴
due to being dressed differently
or due to our speaking an ancient language...
Nahuatl⁵.

And even though I live in a large city
of Nuevo Leon [State],
my parents take care to teach me
the value of my roots
in Veracruz [state].
Because I was born at that place,
Near the Hill of The Wind⁶,
where it is said that
Moctezuma's⁷ hand has been imprinted.
It is a great silhouette,
a gorgeous spectacle.

Notwithstanding my young age,
my coexistence with my parents
at their work as street vendors,
has afforded me the opportunity
to gain insight on the various
and distinct life situations.

My mommy sell plants...
at the small markets
near my home.
'Water your plant and treat it with love'
-- 'so that it will blossom.'
Thus my mommy advises her patrons
but she says to me:
'brush your teeth each time after you eat'
-- 'if you want them to stay white.'
'Make it a daily habit to apply on lotion'
-- 'so that your skin will not dry.'
'Make it a daily habit to read for 30 minutes'
-- 'and you will learn many things.'

Certain day,
my teacher wrote on her blackboard
a phrase that read:
"a [water] droplet..."
"will bore through a rock."
"Not due to the force of the droplet",
-- "but rather due to its constancy."

Initially, I did not understand her.
But when she used examples to illustrate,
I was reminded of my parents
-- and of what day-in and day-out I am told.

Today I understand...
that we can reach our goals
only by applying a constant effort.

I watch in the news,
that the levels of crime,
kidnappings and corruption,
are way too elevated.
And that more often than not
we have less education.

Why is it that we lose our respect
for our elders,
for our neighbors,
for our own country!?
Why is it that the various ethnicities
in our country are disappearing?

Why... is it that we do not value
the richness of our roots?
Well, it's because we are not practicing values.
Because in our day-to-day activities
we leave out doing good deeds,
and disregard caring for others.

The adults become lost in the stress
of daily life.
And place undue importance
on the material things
available in our society.
And thus forget
what is truly important!:
to instill love...
and family values.

Mexico...
needs to implement
a strong program
to rescue our lost values.

We crucially need to:
practice honesty,
practice communication,
practice tolerance,
practice loyalty,
practice, practice, practice,
practice values...
manifold values!
Day-in and day-out;
within the family;
at the school;
at the workplace;
at the parks;
at this photography contest.
Everywhere and all the time.
Values...
even in the soup!

This constancy
would inspire the adults to become
respectful,
punctual,
cordial,
organized and productive.
That would increment profits
for the labor sector.
which is the engine of our country.

If we, the children, practiced:
discipline,
caring,
collaboration,
helpfulness,
striving,
and attendance,
we could have a rapid increment
in our educational level.

If we all practiced:
tolerance,
respect,
solidarity...
with the seniors,
single mothers,
homeless children,
the people with special abilities,
and so many other vulnerable sectors
of the population.
All of them would become:
more active,
more productive,
more motivated...
-- but above all --
they would all be happier.

If we all honored cultural diversity
and we recovered the values,
and the respect
that our ancestors practiced,
What a huge treasure...
our country would have!

If we all respected one another,
and endeavored to make of it a tradition:
presidential pacts,
business deals with other countries,
investments with major entrepreneurs,
and the initiatives in our country,
all would be implemented
taking into consideration
one another's rights,
and the people's overall well being.
And honesty would prevail in every law.

Let's not forget our indigenous people;
they did not sign any documents...
because their word was enough.
They were men of honor!

Why do we adopt...
foreign celebrations...
like Halloween and Easter?
How come our endeavor is not
to recover our beautiful
Mexican traditions... so forgotten?
We must live our own celebrations!

We must encourage dissemination
as well as love,
towards so many
and so distinct forgotten cultures.
There exists so much [cultural] wealth in them!
Let's endorse equitableness,
the integration of ourselves,
[Mexico's] indigenous people,
into [New Spain's]⁸ society.

If we were to practice
Mexico's ancient customs,
our traditions would be fortified.
Those which are built on values...
and good manners!
So delicious are the tlatoniles,
pipian,
bocoles
and zacahuiles⁹.
But it is a pity that
most people don't even know about them;
and all the more because those are...
typical mexican dishes.

This contest
opens-up an opportunity
to create awareness of
the multiculturalism
that prevails in our state.
I wish...
we all became more interested
in our country's diversity.

There is an important
population sector
which throughout the years
has faced
adversity,
inequity,
and poverty,
all due to the inequality
in our country's
wealth distribution.

Democracy
should apply equally
to all population sectors.
How wonderful it would be if ourselves
-- the indigenous communities --
had the opportunity
to participate
in the political life
of our country.

I am Natalia...
I speak the Nahuatl Language
because my mother teaches me.
However, I feel a great sorrow
not to apprehend
the Totonacah [language]
which my father carries in his heart.

I proudly am
one hundred percent
of indigenous origin!
And even though on occasions
they have humiliated...
or belittled myself,
I am happy
because I am aware that
I am part of Mexico's
great roots!

If I am certain of something...
is of the immense courage required
to recover...
so much history,
so many values,
so many traditions.
Let us recover our identity!

Let's remake a Mexico
aided by today's technology,
but this must be utilized
through the practice
of our values of lore.

If every one of us
valued
what's positive in our cultures,
What huge treasure
our society would possess!

Forget for a short while
about your cellular,
your video games,
about your chats,
and hug the person you love,
and talk personally [to the person],
and the bonds of love
and values
will flourish.

Let us respect
cultural diversity.
Let us respect our society.
Let us build one culture...
a culture of peace.

I thank you all
for listening to me.

---

¿Feliz Día del Niño NO!

¡Feliz Día de la Niña, Natalia
Happy Girl's Day, Natalia

---

References:

¹ Reaffirmation of her 'indigenous roots' implies her ancestry from Anahuacah peoples antedating New Spain -- the iberian colony which today cloaks itself with the name 'Mexico'.

²
In the New Spain colony cloaked as 'Mexico', it is a taboo to speak of the Spaniards' genocide of Anahuacah indigenous people:

"Cualquier persona descendiente de los pueblos nahuatl, otomí, mazahua, maya, etc., que visite el pabellón Mexica, egresa del mismo, desubicado, confundido y con la sensación de ser 'culpable de hechos aberrantes'. En ningún lugar del Museo se encuentra un texto que haga explícita la invasión de Tenochtitlan por los españoles genocidas, como tampoco, sobre su destrucción sistemática de la representaciones simbólicas, ocurrida desde el 18 de noviembre de 1519, antes del 13 de agosto de 1521 y posteriormente, hasta finalizar la despótica colonización e imperialismo hispano (1810)"

"Any person descendant from the nahuatl, otomi, mazahua, maya, etc., peoples, visiting the Mexica pavilion [at National Anthropology and History Museum], emerges from it, disoriented, confused and with the feeling of being 'guilty of aberrant deeds'. In no place in the Museum can be found a writing that makes explicit the invasion of Tenochtitlan by the genocidal spaniards, neither, over the systematic destruction of symbolic representations, which occurred from November 18, 1519, before August 13, 1521, and a posteriori, until the end of the hispanic despotic colonization and imperialism (1810)"

Aztec Calendar - Sun Stone [...] Topic: Representaciones simbólicas e interpretaciones socioculturales

³
"the marias", i. e., "the maries" -- like the more general imbecile term 'indios', i.e., 'indians' -- is another additional burden that Anahuacah indigenous women must endure. It derives from the character "India María" played by a female actress who capitalizes on the ongoing proletarianization and plundering of the natives' resources which forces them to migrate to large cities. Capitalizing on mimicking the behavioral awkwardness exhibited by the proletarianized natives in large cities thus becomes theme of laughter -- and huge profits for the actress and the big media monopolies -- at the expense of the Anahuacah indigenous women. Rather than address the corrosive racial discrimination and prejudice in the prevailing Spaniards' attitude towards indigenous mexicans, the actress and big entertainment media perpetuate the vicious cycle.

⁴
"pointed at", i.e., discriminated and prejudiced against.

⁵
Those who now call themselves 'mexicans' speak the spanish dialect of the New Spain colony. Natalia, on the other hand, speaks Nahuatl -- Mexico's language par excellence.

⁶
"Hill of the Wind" from Nahuatl language: Ehecatepetl; it is also known as Cerro de [Hill of] Acatlan in Veracruz

⁷
Moctezuma: "...the ninth tlahtoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520"

⁸
Natalia's remarks wishing to be integrated into New Spain's, a.k.a. 'Mexico' society implies that there exists another taboo in the iberian colony: institutionalized apartheid.

⁹

"...big and red chicatana ants

(which in Chiapas are known as nukú or tizim) are ground in mol∙caxitl [from Nahuatl molli : sauce, broth, gravy; and caxitl : bowl; but agglutinated word corrupted by the Spanish dialect speakers as 'molcajete'] (a bowl-like stone container that serves for grinding) with chilies, salt and water to make a sauce which in Huatusco in Veracruz is called 'tlatonile'."
molli def. from Online Nahuatl Dictionary
Exotic Mexican Cuisine
Clip illustrating chicatana ants extracted from How a Cartel takes over US - Mexico Border / How People live

bocoles [bocolli]
1. corn cake made with beans. 2. corn cake made with chile, salt and lard.
1. gordita de frijol. 2. gordita preparada con chile, sal y manteca.
University of Oregon Wired Humanities Project

Zacahuiles: humongous tamalli.
Unknown Mexico.