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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.

Transcript

KURLY TLAPOYAWA:

Welcome, dear listener to Tales from Aztlantis. 

 Join us each week as we cast a critical eye on Mesoamerican Pseudohistory, new age nonsense, archaeological misconceptions, and more.  We are your hosts Kurly Tlapoyawa, and Ruben Arellano

 We are going to take this opportunity to say Tlazkamati – Thank you – for joining us, and give you an idea of what you can expect from this show.

 Allow me to introduce my co-host Dr Rubean Arellano Tlakatekatl. 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.

 RUBEN ARELLANO TLAKATEKATL:
Thank you Kurly, now let me introduce you.

 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.

 KURLY TLAPOYAWA:
So just so our listeners know, Ruben and I have known each other for many years and we've remained good friends through all of those years.

 RUBEN ARELLANO TLAKATEKATL:
supposedly.

 KURLY TLAPOYAWA:
And the reason we're doing this podcast is these topics have great interest to both of us. These are things that we've experienced that we've lived through. We both came up through the Mexikayotl as Danzantes Aztecas. We've gone to medicine meetings together and other ceremonies. So, we have a wealth of experience on these topics.

 Now we both also have careers as educators and researchers. And part of this has been sort of deconstructing and dissecting these things that we were taught and sort of exploring what we found to be factual, what we found to be exaggerations, and what we found to be completely made up. I think we even started questioning these things around the same time.

 RUBEN ARELLANO TLAKATEKATL:
We did. I think when I first met, you must have been sometime around the year 2000, maybe late '99 or 2000. That's been at least a good 20 years since we've known each other. And that was back when you still lived in North Texas. I'm in Dallas and you are in right now. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. And I remember like after you moved away from North Texas, we kept in touch. And I think I used to visit you maybe not every year, but I would try to go out there in the summer and visit for a day or two and we would hang out.

 And so we maintain that connection. And we kept in touch over the years through social media. And I think around the time that I started questioning Mexikayotl and a lot of the things that we had come to believe were true because we were told that these were ancient things that had been passed down to us through generations. And elders, et cetera, was probably around the year 2007, something like that. That's when I started going to community college.

 You know, that set me on this long road that ended up with my attaining a Ph.D. in history. And so I think I'm on your side of things. You were questioning certain things and I was questioning certain things. And we would get together back in the old Mexika Eagle Society Message Board. Remember that?

 KURLY TLAPOYAWA:
Oh, yeah. 

 RUBEN ARELLANO TLAKATEKATL:
And those of you that remember those days, I remember having very lively conversations on that board, to say the least. And we would discuss various things and we would try to track down the origin of, for example, the word Ixachilan.

I think that's one of the triggers for me that really got me going like, OK, so I've looked at all these Nawatl dictionaries and I've looked at a lot of sources from the colonial period and the word Ixachilan or its variant is Ixachilatlan or Ishachitlan, you know, it doesn't exist. I mean, where is the source for this? So that's one of the things that started me on this path to questioning a lot of the stuff that we're going to be covering on the show.

 KURLY TLAPOYAWA:
Yeah, and speaking of Ixachilan, I remember picking up the book Being Indian in Huayapan, and that is one of the first places where I encountered the character of Juan Luna Cardenas, who it turns out had a hand in the invention and spreading of that word Ixachilan.

And so we're going to be talking about him. We're going to be talking about these sorts of topics in the weeks to come, sort of peeling back the layers of the onion and just casting that critical lens on what we've been taught to accept as traditional knowledge. Sometimes it turns out to be and, you know, there's truth to it, or sometimes it's completely made up and usually, it's a mix of the two. 

So if you are interested in 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 May archaeology, and MORE – then please subscribe to Tales from Aztlantis. We look forwards to going on this journey with you all.

And remember, the Truth is like medicine, it doesn’t always taste good, but it’s always good for you.