In San Jose for the 28th Annual Mexica and 5th Annual Cali Native Night, a celebration of indigenous cultures in the Bay Area after years of suppression, thousands of people gathered in the grassy field of San Jose’s Emma Prusch Farm Park. Featuring nations across California — including the San Francisco Bay Area’s aboriginal Muwekma Ohlone — and their southern relatives from Mexico, the March 13-15 weekend fostered a sense of community and acknowledgement for the indigenous peoples. By giving space for traditional ceremonial practices, aboriginal voices were able to be heard and respected.
Hosted by the San Jose-based Aztec dance group Calpulli Tonalehqueh, the celebration centered on the Mexica New Year and commemorated thousands of years of indigenous practices. The new year follows a 365-day seasonal calendar consisting of 360 days and five nameless days; the five are considered to be unlucky and potentially calamitous. At the end of the five nameless days is the new year — observed by the indigenous Mexica people of the Valley of Mexico — which celebrates the new agricultural cycle. While the Mexica New Year is more specific to the Mexica people, it is also celebrated by the wider Nahua community…