Tales From Aztlantis
We explore Chicano, Mexicano, and Mesoamerican history, archaeology, and culture, and combat the spread of disinformation about these very topics. Your hosts Kurly Tlapoyawa and Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl invite you to join them on a fascinating journey through Mesoamerica's past, present, and future!
Goodpods #1 in the Top 100 Chicano Podcasts (3 years running!)
Episodes
179 episodes
Episode 97: Zombie Columbus Vs. the KKK!
Well, dear listeners, here we go again.Like a brainless zombie emerging from the grave, a long-dead statue of Christopher Columbus has lurched back to life in order to reign terror on Washington DC.And as his statue’s reanimated c...
Throwback: Cinco de Mayo!
What is the actual history of Cinco de Mayo, what importance does it hold for Chicana/Chicano/Chicanx communities, and most importantly why is it celebrated in the United States? Well dear listener, if you have ever asked yourself any of those ...
Episode 96: Tragedy at Teotihuacan
On the morning of April 20, tourists climbed the ancient steps of the Temple of the Moon at Teotiwakan, taking in the grandeur of the once-thriving Mesoamerican metropolis. From personal experience, I can tell you that the air that day was prob...
Throwback: The Juan Diego Code!
During a 1990 visit to Mexico, Pope John Paul II confirmed the long-standing liturgical cult in honor of Juan Diego, officially beatifying him. This act set in motion the process of canonizing Juan Diego as the first saint Indigenous to the Ame...
Episode 95: Human Sacrifice!
When people hear phrases like “human sacrifice” or “cannibalism” their minds don’t immediately jump to the Crusades, Rome, medieval Europe, or the Bible. They jump straight to brown skin, feathered headdresses, and temples drenched in blood. Ty...
Throwback: Chicano Power!
In this episode we explore the origin and meaning of the word Chicano. What does it mean to be a Chicano? Do Mexican Americans who hold right-wing views get to call themselves Chicano? Join your hosts as we dig into these topics!End son...
Episode 94: Death and Loss
In this episode we address the loss of those who have loved and inspired us, as well as those who have betrayed our trust.
Episode 93: Cesar Chavez & The Cult of Synanon!
The year is 1966, in Santa Monica, California. Inside a large, dimly lit room, members of a controversial and increasingly violent group known as Synanon gather in a circle. At the center sits a single figure—another “Synanite”—alone on a foldi...
A Dispatch From The Desert
Today we join Kurly as he descends into madness doing Archaeological fieldwork in southern New Mexico!
Dispatch From Aztlantis: The Aztec-Turkish Connection?
In this episode, Tlakatekatl investigates the idea that the Nawatl language is somehow related to Turkish.
Dispatch From Aztlantis: Whiskey, Crosses, and Fascists
Archaeological fieldwork can be a lonely undertaking. For this special dispatch, we join Kurly as he does fieldwork in Taos, NM. Let's' just say that things get...interesting.
Episode 92: The Year Already Sucks!
For our Season 5 finale, we reflect on some news items, discuss whether a Chicano can be a trump supporter, and reflect on some of our favorite moments from 2025!
Special Throwback: Last of the Aztecs!
The Last of The Aztecs! Online racial conspiracists often share historical photos of a man and woman dubbed "The Last of the Aztecs." But who are the individuals in the photo? What is their actual story? And what do they have to ...
Episode 91: The Invention of America
Today, we’re peeling back the layers of a name we use every single day, often without a second thought: America. But we aren’t just looking at a map; we’relooking at a philosophical crisis. It’s a crisis that really came to a head in 1958. ...
Throwback: Reason for the Season!
Well, dear listeners, it’s that time of year again: when the mainstream media and their corporate overlords conspire to wage war on the winter holiday meant to celebrate the birth of our savior and erase our annual traditions. We are referring ...
Episode 90: Decoding Teotihuacan w/ Magnus Pharao Hansen
The culture that thrived at Teotihuacan in the Classic period has a unique place in Mesoamerican history. Today, it is held as an emblem of the Mexican national past and is one of the most visited archaeological sites in the Americas. Neverthel...
Throwback: Four Things about the Mexika Calendar
With the passing of the Spring Equinox, we once again bring another year to a close. “In Xiwitl itlamiliz” The year has ended. This means it is once again time for the annual online arguments over whose calendar system follows the correct corre...
Episode 89: Rise Up. Walk Out.
It was March 1968, and East Los Angeles was ready to explode.The city didn’t know it yet—hell, the country didn’t know it—but a brown revolution was about to burst forth out of its high schools. Over the course of a single week, up to
Throwback: The Assassination of Kwawhtemok!
The Assassination of Kwawtemok! On February 28, of the year 1525, Kwawtemok – the last sovereign tlatoani (ruler or speaker) of the Mexikah nation and the Anawak Confederacy, was assassinated by Hernán Cortés. But ...
Throwback: Nahuatl Nations!
We are joined By Dr. Magnus Pharao Hansen to discuss his new book "Nahuatl Nations: Language Revitalization and Semiotic Sovereignty in Indigenous Mexico."Nahuatl Nations is a linguistic ethnography that explores the political relations...
Episode 88: Inventing New Mexico's Crypto Jews!
In the blistering heat of New Mexico’s sun-baked earth, under the protective gaze of Okuu Pin–the Turtle Mountain that majestically stands guard over Albuquerque–a strange and persistent legend has taken hold. It’s a story of hidden Jews, of an...
Throwback: Subversive Spirituality!
Day of the Dead is Subversive Spirituality! Long before the arrival of Europeans, some of the Indigenous Mesoamerican traditions of honoring the dead were celebrated with two specific feasts: Mikailwitl (feast of the dead), and W...
Episode 87: Trump & The Cult of Columbus
It was October 9th, and the orange-tinted manchild sat hunched in the Oval Office, surrounded by his usual circus of bootlickers, propagandists, and professional ass-kissers. Cameras clicked, flags flapped, and the stench of urine, Axe body spr...
Episode 86: The Juan Diego Code!
During a 1990 visit to Mexico, Pope John Paul II confirmed the long-standing liturgical cult in honor of Juan Diego, officially beatifying him. This act set in motion the process of canonizing Juan Diego as the first saint Indigenous to the Ame...
Throwback: The Second Declaration of Anahuac!
On November 26, 1988, a person by the name of Ramón Tirado delivered the “Consigna del sexto sol: Segunda consigna de Anáhuac” –or the “Mandate of the Sixth Sun: Second Mandate of Anahuac”– at the Convención de Anáhuac – or the “Anahuac Convent...
