In this public workshop, participants will learn about the Veintena Tititl according to the Mexica Calendar. Tititl is the representation of the earth’s contraction during this time of year and the earth’s stage of elderhood. Just as the earth shows us it’s phase of elderhood and wisdom, we as humans can similarly take all we have learned throughout the year and transform our experiences into wisdom. A brief explanation of the Mexica calendar structure will be included to convey the concept of 20-day periods called Veintenas and the Mexica New Year in March 2020. The workshop will include a history and meaning of the Danza Mexica tradition as practiced by Kalpulli Xochiyaoyotl. Danza Mexica, also known as Aztec Dancing, is a cultural dance tradition widely practiced throughout California and nationwide with origins dating back to ancient Mesoamerican ceremonies of Mexico and Central America. 

Kalpulli Xochiyaoyotl was created with the mission to diffuse Indigenous Mexica culture and educate our Northeast San Fernando Valley communities through cultural art workshops, presentations, and ceremonies. Kalpulli Xochiyaoyotl is a community of people that dedicates itself to increasing self-awareness through cultural and ancestral teachings that guide, inspire, and ignite paths forward. Kalpulli Xochiyaoyotl works with multiple groups throughout the San Fernando Valley and is part of the Confederation of Cemanahuac, based out of Mexico City. Kalpulli Xochiyaoyotl was founded in 2001 and practices out of Sun Valley Recreational Park in Sun Valley, CA. 

Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural & Bookstore--with a mission to transform community through ancestral knowledge, the arts, literacy and creative engagement-- is honored to host this project called The Indigenous in Us: Embracing Ancestral Knowledge & Sharing the Beauty of Practice. Tititl: El Encogimiento de la Tierra workshop is part of our series of free public cultural events. Showcasing Northeast San Fernando Valley community-based indigenous practices of Native Mexica and local Native American groups benefits individual and social wellbeing through the sharing of ancestral knowledge and arts.