Jalisco will host its first State Meeting of Indigenous Languages and Literatures (EELLI). The event will bring together speakers, writers, artists, and cultural advocates. It will last for three days, dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the state’s native tongues.
Organized by the Jalisco Ministry of Culture, the event will run from August 13 to 15 across two historic venues in Guadalajara: the Edificio Arroniz and the Ex Convento del Carmen. The program is free to the public. It includes academic forums, traditional dance and music performances, language workshops, and the recording of audio capsules in Indigenous languages for future educational and cultural use.
The initiative is part of the UN’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032). This global effort aims to protect and revitalize languages at risk of disappearing. In Mexico, the stakes are high. Of the country’s 68 officially recognized Indigenous languages, many are classified as vulnerable or endangered. This is due to migration, assimilation pressures, and lack of intergenerational transmission.
Celebrating voices in their mother tongue
The event will open on Wednesday, August 13, at 5:00 p.m. at the Ex Convento del Carmen. It will be followed by the “Miércoles Literarios” cycle. During this event, Angélica Ortiz and Gabriel Pacheco Salvador (both wixárika) and Zeferino del Ángel Santiago (náhuatl) will share their work. They will also discuss the role of creative writing in keeping Indigenous languages alive. The day will end with screenings of animated short films in native languages, offering visual storytelling that reflects Indigenous worldviews.
The following day, Thursday, August 14, activities will begin at the Edificio Arroniz’s Salón de Música with the recording of linguistic capsules—short audio pieces featuring native speakers. Later, the Náhuatl Language Forum in the Salón Versalles will highlight teaching and revitalization projects from the towns of Cuautitlán and Tuxpan. Afternoon workshops will teach introductory náhuatl and wixárika. This will be followed by “Huehues: The Word of the Elders,” a dialogue exploring the cultural role of community elders. There will also be a screening of the film Un lugar llamado música.
Friday, August 15, will feature more audio recordings and a midday panel. The panel will discuss institutional actions during the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Language workshops will expand to include mixteco and purépecha. A key afternoon discussion, “Migration and preservation of language in urban environments,” will bring together speakers of wixárika, náhuatl, mixteco, purépecha, otomí, and triqui. They will explore the challenges of maintaining cultural identity in cities.
The closing event at 7:00 p.m. on August 15 in the Edificio Arroniz will feature traditional dance groups Etsamete Meripaitimieme and Sembradores de Costumbres. There will also be performances by urban wixárika children, and music by the mixteco band Yaá animaá Ñuu-Xavi Música del corazón mixteco.
Linking language to cultural survival
While the EELLI is a celebration of art, literature, and music, its deeper aim is to strengthen cultural identity and intergenerational knowledge transfer. For communities in Jalisco—home to several Indigenous peoples, including wixárika, coca, náhuatl, and mixtec—language is more than a communication tool. It is the vessel for oral histories, traditional ecological knowledge, and spiritual beliefs.
Organizers hope the event will serve as a bridge between generations. The goal is to inspire young people to learn or reclaim their ancestral language. They also aim to foster greater public appreciation among non-Indigenous residents of Jalisco.
