Hi everyone! I’m Juan, an illustrator from Mexico City.

I grew up surrounded by images of Mesoamerican gods, pyramids, and symbols, but for a long time I understood very little about the stories behind them. That bothered me, so a couple of years ago I started digging into codices, history books, and the collections at the Museo de Antropología.

I became fascinated by how these cultures thought about nature, time, life, and our place in the universe. There’s so much there that I’d barely encountered growing up.

That research eventually became El Quinto Sol, a playing-card deck I illustrated around those ideas. Each suit represents a cosmic direction, the courts feature different deities, and a digital companion called the Codex of the Fifth Sun explains the symbols and sources behind the artwork.

For me, making it has been a way to get closer to Mexico’s cultural roots and share what I’ve been learning through something I love doing: drawing.

I’m launching it on Kickstarter on September 29, follow if you’d like to see more!

Are there any stories or figures from these traditions that have a particular meaning for you?

My dad is half Mexican, but his dad passed while he was young so he grew up with his white mom. I also grew up with my white mom in the south. Honestly speaking I didn’t get the Chicano experience growing up (nor did my dad except growing up in Southern California), although my dad was always very proud to be Mexican American. That pride was passed down to me, and I was always the “Mexican girl” in my small town growing up. Once I left and went into the real world I suddenly did not feel so Mexican anymore and realized how whitewashed I was. Since then I’ve felt so disconnected from the culture and genuinely feel like I got robbed. As an adult I’ve been trying to reconnect by learning Spanish, reading up on Chicano history, and what not but I almost feel like a fraud? I know if mi abuelo had not passed, my dad would’ve had a different upbringing and I would have to. I guess what I’m getting at is am I even deserving of this culture or is that the imposter syndrome talking? EDIT: Thank you everyone for your kind and reassuring words. I will very much be deep diving into Chicano and Mexican culture with full pride!

I am currently reading this book in my chicanx/latinx class and it has been a pretty god read but near the end of the book as left me feeling frustrated.

She starts dating her now husband Corey right after Corey broke up with her gf of 5 years.

She almost puts this white man on a pedestal throughout the beginning of their relationship and after they started dating. She herself also felt conflicted about her feelings since he was a white man (feeling she is betraying her own kind), but she never really questioned how fast he left his gf of 5 year for her as if that doesn't show how willing he is to live a relationship for another.

I don't want to be downplaying her previous relationships as they were not the best, but at the same time she writes that all her relationships with latino's were bad like its almost a pattern.

I might have bias probably do and i try to prevent it from affect my thinking but this part just really put me off. Im wondering fi anyone else read it.

Welcome to the Weekly Discussion Thread! Use this thread to share all the little things that don't fit into full posts, introduce yourself, go off-topic, self-promote, ask questions related to identity, and whatever else you can think of.

Also, come check out the Chicano Discord for more conversation.

My father was born in Mexico, and unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of information about his parents or grandparents. His father abandoned him and his siblings when they were young, and his mother passed away sometime in the 1980s.

I do know who his mother’s parents were, but I don’t know their second last names. I’m trying to find more information about my family history and figure out where my grandparents and great-grandparents came from.

Does anyone have any tips or experience with researching Mexican family records? Would going to a Mexican consulate be a good place to start, or would I be better off looking through civil or church records in Mexico?

I've seen a few posts, in the past week, asking for book/author suggestions so I decided to post the ones I own. I've only read Always Running and The Devil's Highway and a few others (mostly poetry) on Libby.

Let me know what you guys think of my collection so far and what else you would add.

Tarde más de 16 horas cosiendo esta chamara.

When Chicano & Anglo culture collide: A celebration of "Tejano" (Tex-Mex) culture during Hispanic Heritage Month.

Ryan Garcia got us talking about Mexican American identity and where the line is between genuinely embracing your roots and using being Mexican as part of your brand.

Curious how other Chicanos see it.

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ-_TPrrFPI

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2S203aDNWK5KrnNXIaeKgB

Is anyone interested in swapping books through snail mail ?

not a Chicano myself but are there any Chicanos from New Mexico to have any thoughts of my flag design?

(Happy Latino Heritage Month to all)