Who are the Chiltepes Chilerxs?
A chiltepe is that small but spicy chili pepper that gives your meal some kick. It’s a characteristic pepper in what we today call “Guatemala”, otherwise known as Ixim Ulew. It’s a small and flavorful chili that defines our homelands.
“Chilero”. A classic Guatemalan word that differentiates our way of saying “cool” from all other countries in Latin America. A completely unique form of expressing approval, acceptance and affirmation. iQue chilero!
So why a chiltepe chilerx?
This is a project that combines food, culture and language as mediums through which we can connect with ourselves as Guatemalans in the diaspora, as well as with our Guatemalan counterparts in our homelands. The chiltepe roots us in the land where our parents are from or where we immigrated from, while chilero gives us a linguistic tool to define our identities in the diaspora. Though we may not be in the land of the chiltepe, we can carry our identity through language that sets us apart from everyone else.
Chiltepes Chilerxs is a world-bridging project that is connecting us Guatemalans in the diaspora to our people in our homelands. Though we are cut from the same cloth, we live vastly different lives here in Turtle Island (US/Canada). In some cases, we have a lot of misunderstanding of each other and the worlds we occupy. Though we are connected through our nationality, families, friendships or kinships, we are disconnected as a consequence of colonially imposed border policies, imperialist interventions and economic exploitation.
Although we may be physically separated and distant from each other, we have digital tools at our disposal that make connecting significantly more accessible than ever before. Chiltepes Chilerxs will work towards accomplishing the following goals in its first stages of the project.
