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Tongues in Quarantine
HINCHAS Press publishes first book by Project 1521 By Sebastian Lipstein t the information desk of Hyde Park Branch Library, Yago Cura plies his trade as a city librarian, providing access and information to Hyde Park community members. He is also the sole proprietor of HINCHAS Press, a local publishing house that seeks to publish meaningful and thought-provoking literature and poetry that is Latin America-centric. Their website sells original books, zines and artwork. Born in Brooklyn, Cura taught high school English in the Bronx. Although he is of Argentinean descent, he still hopes to bring Latinx and minority-owned publishing companies the recognition and space in the publishing industry “they have earned.” “There is a great Village Voice article from 1995 saying 90% of publishers are white,” Cura said. “We are hoping to change that and tell our stories.” Hinchas de Poesia Press (aka HINCHAS Press) previously released “Inspiring Library Stories: Tales of Kindness, Connection, and Community Impact,” as well as “X LA Poets,” a collection of contemporary poetry from 10 Los Angeles women. The latter is edited by Linda Ravenswood, a seventhgeneration California school teacher and founder of The Los Angeles Press. Ravenswood is also a teacher for the esteemed 24th Street Theatre Company and was a shortlist candidate for the 2017 Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. Ravenswood and Cura are two of four editors (Adolfo Guzman-Lopez and Darren de Leon being the others) on HINCHAS’ newest release “Tlacuilx: Tongues in Quarantine.” The book is a collection of poetry composed by Project 1521, a group of 10 Southern California writers, scholars and an artist to reflect on the 500 years since the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and produce literary and visual works of resistance towards colonialism, family separatism and oppression. Project 1521, which features Cura and Ravenswood, was started by LA native artist Sandy Rodriguez and NPR journalist/poet Adolfo-Guzman Lopez. Rodriguez’s work is especially unique and revered because she uses indigenous, pre-Colombian methods and materials to make her paper, amate, and her pigments. She has been featured by the LA Times and her work is slated to appear at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Huntington Library, Denver Art Museum, and others in the coming months. Among other poets and writers, Project 1521 also features Diane Magaloni, director of the Art of the Ancient Americas at the LACMA and former
PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF HINCHAS PRESS/COVER BY SANDY RODRIGUEZ
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“Tlacuilx: Tongues in Quarantine” is the first book by Project 1521, a group of Southern California writers, scholars and an artist that honors people who have endured family separations, colonialism and institutional violence through cultural affirmation and various forms of resistance. director of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico. Since 2018, the group of 10 diverse people meet quarterly in Rodriguez’s Mar Vista studio to discuss her current works and methods used in painting those images. “Tlacuilx: Tongues in Quarantine” features poetry from the group exploring how life has changed over the last 500 years since Hernan Cortes and Spain conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521 amidst the most fatal pandemic in Mexican history. The poets discuss immigration, the environment and natural resources, and colonialism, as well as Aztec life and the tlacuilo (the Aztec painter-scribes). The poetry is expansive and exposes the
reader to concepts like Nahuatl, tlacuilo, the Florentine Codex, Tenochtitlan and Manifest Destiny. The work is an act of resistance against oppression and serves to teach us about Aztec life and the Americas before European expansion. The literature encourages one to contemplate topics such as why they included a Tongva People Acknowledgement and learn our history and expand our consciousness. Cura believes that “the production of Tlacuilx, and the collaborative work that was essential to its genesis closely echoes the work of the tlacuilx as they worked on the 12-volume book they were making for Bernardo de Sahagun and the Historia General de Nueva Espana.” The 12-vol-
ume book, known as the Florentine Codex, served as a guide and history to the Aztec people of the conquering Spaniards. The tlacuilos were Aztec artist scribes who were forced to complete the Florentine Codex for Spain under harsh conditions amidst a pandemic. For those interested in Project 1521, they also have a 1521 Podcast. It features conversations, original poetry and interviews with the members of Project 1521. They have raised nearly $3,000 from the podcast that has gone towards the publication of the book. HINCHAS Press hinchaspress.com
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