In this episode we are joined by Dr. Kristina Nielsen to discuss the history of the Danza Azteca and Mexikayotl traditions! 

About our guest:

Kristina Nielsen received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017. Her research focuses on how music and dance in Aztec revitalization movements shape community histories and identities. Nielsen’s research is highly interdisciplinary and draws on ethnographic research methods, anthropology and area studies, particularly Indigenous and Latin American studies. Her current project examines Indigenous agency in the Mexican Folkloric Ballet’s staging of the Indigenous past. In addition to her ethnographic research, Nielsen has conducted interdisciplinary archaeomusicological research on Mesoamerican ceramic whistles and ocarinas with Christophe Helmke of the University of Copenhagen. She is currently in the process of writing a book that explores how Aztec dancers in Los Angeles navigate tradition, histories, and identities through music and dance.

You can follow Dr. Nielsen's and other music scholars' work here: @music_textbook

Works Cited:

Nielsen, Kristina F. “Composing Histories: The Transmission and Creation of Historicity, Music and Dance in the Los Angeles Danza Community.” PhD Diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 2017.

———. “Forging Aztecness: Twentieth-Century Mexican Musical Nationalism in Twenty-First Century Los Angeles.” Yearbook for Traditional Music 52 (November 2020): 127–46. https://doi.org/10.1017/ytm.2020.18.

———. “The Role of Interpretation in Determining Continuity in Danza Azteca History.” Ethnomusicology Review, May 17, 2014. https://ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu/content/role-interpretation-determining-continuity-danza-azteca-history. 

Your Hosts:

Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He is currently a professor of Chicano Studies at the Colegio Chicano del Pueblo, a free online educational institution.
@kurlytlapoyawa

Ruben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus.
@Tlakatekatl

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