Maiz Medicine

Column of the Americas
Maiz Medicine: MujeresMaizCreacion
April 21, 2008
By Roberto Rodriguez

The words are rhythmic. They are spoken, sung and danced to the beat
of a drum every March 8 – Dia Internacional de la Mujer. On this
evening at Self-Help Graphics, they can even be heard down the street
on Cesar Chavez Blvd. in East L.A. They are wisdom, based on
traditions and prophesy. Some are found in the Popul Vuh – the ancient
sacred book of the Maya – about the birth of maiz and humans. Similar
stories are also found in other ancient Indigenous codices and in the
words of the abuelos, the elders… found in The Legend of the Suns, of
how red ants show Quetzalcoatl, the beautiful or plumed serpent, the
location of the seeds of maiz.

These stories and teachings – including those of Chicomecoatl – the
feminine energy of maiz – are also found in the Huehuetlatolli – the
ancient word of Nahua-Maya peoples – gente de maiz – people of corn.

The words come from the recently published Somos Medicina – We are
medicine – by the Mujeres de Maiz – 'the women of corn' collective.
From elders, to mujeres to young Cihuatl spirits, their words are
medicinal, yet they are not from the past. They are alive because the
mujeres are alive. They are ancient because their ideas are ancient.
And yet, their work may be better described as Yankuiktlahtolli – la
Nueva Palabra or the New Word, though both ancient and new are fused
into their work… work that challenges racial, sexual and gender
oppression in and out of their/our communities.

Somos Medicina is more than words. They are dreams spoken, sung and
painted to heartbeats… often filled with satire and humor. They are
the 21st century definition of In Xochitl in Cuicatl: poetry & song.
Their work and their words is MujerCreation.

Yet unlike the Huehuetlahtolli, their work will not be found in
museums nor in libraries. Neither will it be found in polished plays
or well-rehearsed stories… because the stories have no scripts. They
are being written and created as we speak – in part, created by women
who are asserting their reality as mujeres with voices – with Palabra.
Their performances are works not in progress, but under construction.
Better yet, they are being created – creating cultura. Part resistance
and part creation. Finding their place in creation. They are also part
of building the story, or stories. During a time when society views
Mexicans, Central and South American peoples in the United States as
illegitimate human beings – in many cases, not even human – it is the
stories within Somos Medicina that heal the spirit. They are stories
for peoples in-between stories.

The stories begin with maiz, but also nopal, peyote and mesquite. They
begin with the fire and the drum. The stories are ancient. But the
stories are new. They begin with ancient wanderings and ancient places
– Tonalcapetl and Tamuanchan – the mountain of sustenance and the
place where maiz is created – and they end with north-bound migrations
and urban reservations. They begin with the most amazing creation and
end with 'gente the hielo' (ICE) chasing 'gente de maiz.' They begin
with creation amid destruction… with rehumanization journeys, amid the
many roads of dehumanization.

They begin with journeys of peace, dignity and justice… and journeys
to Teotihuacan – the place of legitimation… then on to Chiapas – the
new place of legitimation. They continue with journeys to the United
Nations, only to find that all their journeys return to the heart, the
heart of U.S. barrios or urban reservations.

The contribution of Mujeres de Maiz is more than a new world that they
are helping to create. It is a change in axis mundi: a change in the
center of the universe. From a point on a map – Aztlan – to
Tamuanchan: the birthplace of maize. From geography to the cosmic
tree. From still yet more borders, to who we are, what we are made of
and from where we come from. From reaction to creation.

At the heart of this change in axis mundi is In Lak Ech – or mujeres
con Palabra – part of the Mujeres de Maiz collective. In Lak Ech is
comprised of Marisol Torres, Felicia Montes, Claudia Mercado, Cristina
Gorocica, Rachel Thorson Véliz, Marlene Beltran and Liza Hita. Their
work – spoken word, hip-hop, poetry and song – constitutes 10 years of
documentation of not simply Xicana herstory – but also ten years since
this shift in axis mundi. This shift represents not simply the
assertion of a voice for mujeres but also, a new voice for all peoples
who have been here, not for hundreds, but thousands of years. With
ancient stories and new stories. With ancient traditions and new
traditions. Con Palabra. MujerCreacionMaiz.

(c) Column of the Americas 2008

Rodriguez can be reached at XColumn@gmail.com. Column of the Americas
is archived at: web.mac.com/columnoftheamericas/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

For information regarding Mujeres de Maiz and their Somos Medicina
Zine, go to: www.mujeresdemaiz.net Information regarding In Lak Ech –
and their CD Mujeres con Palabra – can be obtained via:
www.inlakech.net