Aztlán
Ancestral northern homeland
Aztlán is the mythical ancestral homeland of the Aztec peoples, believed to lie somewhere in the American Southwest or northern Mexico.
In Chicano culture and politics, Aztlán became a powerful symbol during the 1960s and 70s, representing the spiritual homeland of Mexican Americans in territories ceded to the United States after the Mexican-American War: The Plan Espiritual de Aztlán called for Chicano self-determination.
The term now evokes themes of indigenous identity, cultural reclamation, and belonging in the borderlands.
Mexican-American with activist heritage
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- reclamationRecovery of something lost
- borderlandsTerritory near a boundary
- SouthwestArid American expanse
self-determination · Denver · 1969 · manifesto · liberation · indigenous identity · decolonization · Chicana
Starting location of something
- ancestral homelandLand of one's forebears
- migrationMovement to new territory
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- promised landHoped-for place of fulfillment
emergence · tribal memory · codices · creation myth · pilgrimage · prophecy · eagle · serpent
Dry western U.S. region
- UtahBeehive State, western region
- NevadaSilver State out west
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
- Arizona48th state admitted
New Mexico · Texas · Colorado · lost homeland · migration route · Sonoran Desert · Great Basin · Four Corners
Large public wall painting
- Diego RiveraMexican mural master
- zoot suitExaggerated 1940s ensemble
- teatroPlayhouse in Spanish/Italian
- corridosMexican narrative folk songs
lowrider culture · poetry · cultural renaissance · community murals · resistance art
Chicano
Mexican-American with activist heritage
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- reclamationRecovery of something lost
- borderlandsTerritory near a boundary
Southwest · self-determination · Denver · 1969 · manifesto · liberation · indigenous identity · decolonization · Chicana · cultural pride
place of origin
Starting location of something
- ancestral homelandLand of one's forebears
- migrationMovement to new territory
- legendUnverified traditional tale
promised land · emergence · tribal memory · codices · creation myth · pilgrimage · prophecy · eagle · serpent · founding story
American Southwest
Dry western U.S. region
- UtahBeehive State, western region
- NevadaSilver State out west
- CaliforniaWest coast megastate
Arizona · New Mexico · Texas · Colorado · lost homeland · migration route · Sonoran Desert · Great Basin · Four Corners · territory
muralism
Large public wall painting
- Diego RiveraMexican mural master
- zoot suitExaggerated 1940s ensemble
- teatroPlayhouse in Spanish/Italian
lowrider culture · corridos · poetry · cultural renaissance · community murals · resistance art
AztlánTenochtitlan
Aztec empire's central city
Mexico City · Lake Texcoco · archaeological site · historical record · the present
Aztlándiaspora
Scattered population sharing origins
exile · displacement · wandering · landlessness · dispersion