They bring the Mexica and Mayan tradition to the Tepito neighborhood

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Santos’ spiritual transformation is imprinted on her skin.

Shortly after the Mexican woman embraced her pre-Hispanic heritage and committed to spreading the word of her ancestors in the Tepito neighborhood of Mexico City, Claudia Santos tattooed the “Ollin” symbol on her wrist, which means “movement” in Nahuatl.

“I got it done as a fingerprint of my name,” said the 50-year-old woman minutes before starting an ancestral Mexica ceremony in the Tepito neighborhood. “To wear a badge that represents me as the identity that I am.”

Since 2021, when she founded an organization that spreads the Mexica legacy among its communities, Claudia Santos and other members of nearby indigenous communities have gathered in mid-August to honor Cuauhtémoc, the last emperor or “tlatoani” of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, the name the capital bore before falling into the hands of the Spanish in 1521.

“The importance of being here, 503 years after those events, is not only to dignify Tepito as an original mud of resistance, strength and perseverance,” said Claudia Santos. “This is an energetic portal, a sacred ‘teocalli’ (‘house of the gods’, in Nahuatl).”

The site he chose to hold the ceremonies has a deep sacred meaning in Mexican history. Although it is now a Catholic church, it was also the site where Cuauhtémoc — who was not only a political leader but also a spiritual one — began the last defense of the territory that was lost to the European conquistadors.

“Our grandfather Cuauhtémoc is here with us,” said Claudia Santos, who added that the space where the church stands today is aligned with the sun. “The cosmic memories of the ancestors will be with us.”

Although he was not present during the rituals, the priest in charge of the Parish of the Conception of Tequipeuhcan, in Tepito, agreed to allow Claudia Santos and other spiritual leaders to carry out their celebrations on the temple’s esplanade. The days began early, preparing the environment with flowers, seeds and pre-Hispanic figures, among other elements.

“I am very grateful that we are allowed to occupy our sacred places again,” said Claudia Santos. “That we can make this agreement between a religious cult and a spiritual cult is for me the greatest joy.”

Days earlier, when the organization’s activities were inaugurated on August 9, a Mayan spiritual guide also performed a ritual at the doors of the church.

“We are going to perform the act of kneeling in offering — not in humiliation — before the Creator of all that exists,” said Gerardo Luna, the spiritual leader who offered honey, incense, sugar, liquor and other objects as food for the fire.

“Fire represents the Creator’s ear,” Luna added. “It is the element that links us to his spirit, which is imbued in everything that exists.”

For him, the performance of ancestral practices in a Catholic space is also relevant.

“There are different ways of understanding spirituality, but there is only one language: that of the heart,” said Luna. “Our Catholic brothers breathe the same air as we do, we all have red blood in our veins and in the end your bones and mine are the same.”

Curious about the sound of the conch shell that was blown to announce the rituals and the smoke of the copal, some local residents approached the church and participated in the Mayan and Mexica rituals.

Lucia Moreno, 75, said they made her feel at peace. Tomas Garcia, 42, explained that he is Catholic, but these ceremonies purify him and allow him to let go of any evil.

For other people like Cleotilde Rodríguez, getting closer to ancestors—and to God—is due to a greater need for emotional comfort.

The 78-year-old woman said after the Mexica ritual that she prayed for her health and well-being. No doctor or medicine has cured the pain in her knees and none of her 10 children visit her or call to ask how she is. Another of her sons, she explained, hanged himself a few years ago and has found no solace since.

“This is what happens to me, so I hope that God gives me permission to continue working and that he doesn’t cut me off from my path, because then what do I do?”

The “Tlalmanalli,” as the traditional Mexica ceremony she attended is known, is an offering to Mother Earth. All members of the community are invited to participate and, in doing so, benefit from her spiritual power.

“What they take with them is medicinal,” said Claudia Santos. “As everything is blessed and consecrated, people also take with them a medicine for life that can be used in moments of sadness.”

Claudia Santos was not always aware of the depth of the Mexica worldview and that of other indigenous peoples, but a couple of decades ago, after feeling that Catholicism did not fulfill her spirit, she began a search.

He researched Buddhism and Hinduism. He practiced yoga and studied the awakening of consciousness. He dug around here and there without ceasing to ask himself: What is there in my country? Why, if other nations have their gurus, are there no more spiritual references in Mexico?

In the Mexicas he found answers. He rediscovered them as spiritual men and women who resisted any pain and challenge without ever losing their connection with their ancestors and their land.

As part of her spiritual transformation, Claudia Santos acquired a new name, this time in Nahuatl and tied to the pre-Hispanic calendar. And so, just as her parents baptized her in the same church in Tepito where she now performs ancestral practices, the woman embraced her new spirituality. And, in a “planting” ceremony, she was called “Ollin Chalchiuhtlicue,” which translates as the “movement of precious water.”

That name, he explains, is more than just letters. It carries with it a mission and vision for this earthly plane.

The one she chose was to heed Cuauhtémoc’s last command, the words he left before giving the last battle on behalf of his people: The sun may have gone out, but it will rise again, and until then we must tell our children – and their children’s children – how great the glory of our Motherland has been.

“Using these spiritual forms that we have from the Mexica tradition, we recover the dignity, the essence and the spirit of our original neighborhood,” said Claudia Santos. “Being here is a joy, but it has also been and will continue to be a work of resistance.”

At a glance

Mexica Ceremony

Claudia Santos performed the “Tlalmanalli” in Tepito, a traditional Mexica ceremony that represents an offering to Mother Earth.

Medicine for life

“As everything is blessed and consecrated, people take home a medicine for life,” he said of the ceremony.

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