UNCOLONIZED

UNCOLONIZED

By Tamara Alvarado, Pedro Perez

I remember it was 2012. I was 8 months pregnant, feeling as big as Noah’s Ark! I was the Executive Director of the School of Arts & Culture at MHP, La Plaza and to this day, a member of Calpulli Tonalehqueh Danza Azteca as well. My husband Aquihuatzin and I had been contemplating our annual trip to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco to dance in solidarity with the International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) on what is commonly known as Thanksgiving Day in the US. The Council, for decades, has organized the Indigenous Peoples Thanksgiving Sunrise Gathering.

“My husband Aquihuatzin and I had been contemplating our annual trip to Alcatraz Island in San Francisco to dance in solidarity”

In this particular year, I was worried about how I would get up and out of the house by 2 AM, get dressed in full regalia, make it onto the ferry boat, and climb a hill potentially risking a fall late in my pregnancy. “Como le hacemos?How do we work this out?” I asked Aquihuatzin. We came to the idea of why not activate La Plaza? I was the Executive Director and had access to a beautiful and very accessible cultural venue deep in the heart of our beautiful Eastside San José. We also were members of an Aztec dance group that knows how to organize cultural events and ceremonies honoring the changing of the seasons, our ancestors, and the always exciting Mexika New Year.

“..I was worried about how I would get up and out of the house by 2 AM..”

We also were members of an Aztec dance group that knows how to organize cultural events and ceremonies honoring the changing of the seasons, our ancestors, and the always exciting Mexika New Year. Then serendipity struck and my phone rang. It was Brother Keith Haimes, “Hey Little Sister, are we going to gather on Thanksgiving Day?

“...are we going to gather on Thanksgiving Day?”