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!
Episodes
168 episodes
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!
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Season 5
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Episode 92
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1:17:41
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 ...
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Season 5
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59:31
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. ...
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Episode 91
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49:40
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 ...
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Season 5
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44:25
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...
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Season 5
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Episode 90
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1:22:50
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...
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Season 5
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52:15
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
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Season 5
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Episode 89
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1:07:17
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 ...
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Season 5
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59:59
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...
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Season 5
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1:53:59
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...
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Episode 88
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1:13:30
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...
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Season 5
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49:57
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...
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Season 5
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Episode 87
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17:05
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...
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Episode 86
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56:47
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...
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Season 5
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53:33
Throwback: New Mexican Spanish w/ Rob Martinez!
The Myth of New Mexican Spanish This week we are joined by the official New Mexico State historian Rob Martinez! Rob joins us as we dissect the many myths surrounding the way Spanish is spoken in New Mexico. In this episode, we a...
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Season 5
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54:42
Throwback: Computer of the Gods!
Proponents of the nepohualtzintzin hail it as a marvel of ancient Mesoamerica. Elevated as a symbol of mathematical sophistication, the device has captured the imagination of scholars and enthusiasts since the 1970s. However, a close examinatio...
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Season 5
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58:42
Episode 85: Kurly's Latinx Adventure!
What happens when you invite Kurly Tlapoyawa to give the keynote address at a Latinx conference? Let's find out!
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Season 5
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Episode 85
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16:31
Dispatch: The Chicano Moratorium!
Today marks the 55th anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium March, a movement of Chicano anti-war activists that built a broad-based coalition of Mexican-American groups to organize opposition to the Vietnam War. Led by activists from local coll...
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Season 5
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43:48
Extended Throwback: Old California Strikes Back w/ Scott Russell Duncan!
In this special extended throwback episode, we are joined by Chicano author Scott Russell Duncan to talk about his new book "Old California Strikes Back" and the state of Chicano publishing!"Old California Strikes Back is a modern Ramona...
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Season 5
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1:55:02
Episode 84: Big Archaeology w/ Dr. Ken Feder!
Is wokeness destroying the discipline of archaeology? Is chattel slavery a bad thing? And just how much does "Big Archaeology" pay, anyway? We break it all down as we are joined by Dr. Ken Feder to discuss his new book "Native America: The Stor...
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Season 5
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Episode 84
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1:42:56
Throwback: An Aztec False Flag!
Danzantes, Mexicanistas, and other cultural practitioners often display a banner that they claim is the "original" and "true" banner of the Mexika people. Often referred to as the Panketzalli, Bandera de Cuitlahuac, or the Bandera de Victoria, ...
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Season 5
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1:08:04
Episode 83: The White Natives of Appalachia?
Today, we’re tackling a really fascinating and, frankly, provocative topic. We’re going to be talking about an article by Stephen Pearson titled “Indigenizing Settlers: The White Appalachian Self and the Colonialism Model of Appalachian Exploit...
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Season 5
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Episode 83
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1:13:41
Throwback: Chicano Power!
August is Chicano Heritage month! To kick off the holidays, 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...
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Season 5
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45:20
Episode 82: Ancient Romans & Jews in the Americas?
SummaryIn this episode, we discuss various themes surrounding Chicano and Mesoamerican history, including the impact of ICE raids on communities, the importance of mental health, and the creation of a corrido in memory of Jaime Alaniz. ...
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Season 5
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Episode 82
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1:07:58
Throwback: Aztec Dinosaurs w/ Dr. David Anderson!
Aztec Dinosaurs w/ Dr. David Anderson! In July 1944, in the Mexican city of Acambaro, Guanajuato, a German businessman named Waldemar Julsrud came across a series of bizarre ceramic figurines said to resemble dinosaurs. These fig...
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Season 5
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1:24:12
