Episode 1: Rise of The Mexikayotl!

Rise of The Mexikayotl!
In this episode, we cast a critical eye on the organization known as the Movimiento Confederado de la Cultura de Anahuac, or MCRCA, and its founder Rodolfo Nieva Lopez. Now, if you have never heard of Nieva Lopez or the MCRCA before today, you are probably not alone. However, if you are actively involved in Mesoamerican cultural reclamation, Nahuatl language revitalization, Danza Azteca, or Curanderismo, odds are some aspect of what you are practicing has been directly influenced by Lopez and the MCRCA.

Founded in the late 1940’s by Rodolfo Nieva Lopez, the MCRCA sought to glorify Mexico’s indigenous past but relied almost exclusively on pseudohistorical misrepresentations of Mesoamerican history and culture. The MCRCA adopted the concept of Mexicayotl as the defining characteristic of their movement and released a book in 1969 titled Mexikayotl, which outlined their overall philosophy. In Spanish, the MCRCA began to refer to their version of Mexicayotl as “La Mexicanidad.”Much like Afrocentric pseudo scholars who shamelessly over exaggerate African contributions to the world, the MCRCA had a strong tendency to falsify and embellish the cultural achievements of Pre-Kuauhtemok civilizations.

For this episode, my co-host and good friend Dr. Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl will take us on a guided tour of Nieva Lopez’s life, and I will provide a brief examination of his book “Mexikayotl.” So strap yourselves in, and prepare yourself for:

Rise of the Mexikayotl!

Your hosts:
Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He is currently a professor of Chicano Studies at the Colegio Chicano del Pueblo, a free online educational institution.
@KurlyTlapoyawa
Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus.

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Rise of the Mexikayotl!

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Episode 0

Thank you for listening, and welcome to Tales From Aztlantis! Join us each week as we explore Mesoamerican pseudohistory, new-age nonsense, archaeological misconceptions, and more!
In this series, you will learn about Maya gods that never existed, whether the Aztecs taught the Egyptians how to build pyramids, how neo-Aztec nationalist movements helped inform Chicano identity, what 19th-century occultists have to do with early Maya archaeology, and MORE! Please subscribe to the show! Our first full episode will debut on March 21st, to coincide with the Mexikah New Year. New episodes will be released every week.
Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He is currently a professor of Chicano Studies at the Colegio Chicano del Pueblo, a free online educational institution.
Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus.

Find us:

Merch: Shop Aztlantis
Book: The Four Disagreements: Letting Go of Magical Thinking

Next Episode

Episode 2: Hunab Ku, Ometeotl, and the Vocabulary of Conquest

Hunab Ku, Ometeotl, and the Vocabulary of Conquest
In 1524, twelve Franciscan missionaries were sent to Mexico from Spain to convert the previously unknown Indigenous people to Catholicism. To help facilitate this, the Spaniards constructed the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco in 1536, where young Indigenous nobles were trained in Catholic doctrine and taught to read and write using the Latin alphabet. These nobles held valuable insight into Mesoamerican cosmovision and helped determine how to manipulate it to serve the missionizing process.
These Indigenous aides would often use Mesoamerican vocabulary and concepts when attempting to translate Catholicism into Indigenous terms. Pre-existing names such as Ipalnemoani “He by Whom One Lives,” Tloke Nawakeh “Possessor of the Near, Possessor of the Surrounding,” Teyokoyani “creator of people,” and others were repurposed to represent the concepts of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and other aspects of Christian belief. When there were no pre-existing Indigenous names to properly convey a desired Catholic principle, Indigenous aides created new terms and expressions in their language that could adequately carry the necessary meaning . As a result, an entirely new vocabulary to convert Mesoamericans to Catholicism was born. I refer to this appropriation and invention of Indigenous terms in the service of religious conversion as the Vocabulary of Conquest.
Your hosts:
Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He has authored numerous books and presented lectures at various universities.
Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. He has presented and published widely and currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus.
Cited in this episode:
Destronando a Ometeotl - Katarzyna Mikulska
The Vocabulary of Conquest - Kurly Tlapoyawa
Translation in Historiography: The Garibay/Leon-Portilla Complex and the Making of a Pre-Hispanic Past - Payas Gertrudis

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