Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos: The Corn Is Ours

The corn is ours, our harvest and the name is really clear: “MAIS”: “Movimiento Indígena Alternativo y Social” (Alternative and Social Indigenous Movement). Is what I have always said: this movement is not only for indigenous people but for every social field and everything it involves: afro-americans, peasants, Yanaconas (indigenous people). Because it has been clear for a long time: if we are not united, next wars are not going to be for land but for water, that’s why we need to be united.

Juan Carlos: My Son And Our Movement

At first I didn’t understand what it means to be an indigenous person. Now I understand it, and I have beeing teaching this meaning to my son. He gets it, he is just three years old but his memory is very developed.

Es que al principio, como yo le decía, yo no entendía nada de esto, yo no sabía que era un indígena. Hoy en día yo entiendo todo esto, y lo que yo entiendo es lo que le estoy enseñando a mi hijo. Y mi hijo ya lo entiende, lo capta muy bien a pesar que tiene 3 años, él tiene una memoria muy avanzada y entiende muy bien esto.

Juan Carlos: Social Movements Need To Be Inclusive

Mural indígena - Buena Vista Cali

The indigenous movement is not just for indigenous people. It is for all kinds of persons: afro, peasants, mestizos… In the end, we are all indigenous, even of we have different skin or eye color we are equal. We were all mixed in the Spanish conquest, nobody is pure, we were all mixed between different indigenous groups, and with whites and afros. That is why we are all indigenous, and our home is everyone’s home.

Juan Carlos: Traveling For Learning

Cabildo Indígena Alto Buena Vista

I went to the Cauca region to prepare myself in things I didn’t know really well. Then I came to Cali with a main objective: make the indigenous guard stronger. But at the same time I tried to better understand the needs of Cali’s indigenous community.

Creo que si me fui para el Cauca, fue para prepararme un poquito más sobre lo que no sabía. Llegué a Cali con una sola meta y un solo objetivo que era fortalecer la guardia indígena, pero al mismo tiempo traté de visualizar las necesidades de las comunidades indígenas acá en la ciudad de Cali.

Juan Carlos: Our Symbols

Juan Carlos: Our Symbols

Here we have in first place we have the CRIC flag. After that, we have the ponchos that make us warm in both physical and spiritual ways beacuse they work as shields against bad energy. Those are our hats, they are tipical and cover us from the heat, they also work against bad ideas that come from the outside. Finally, we have the indiginous batons that represent the historical resistance of our people.

Juan Diego: "MAIS" Is Ours

  The corn is ours, our harvest and the name is really clear: “MAIS”: “Movimiento Indígena Alternativo y Social” (Alternative and Social Indigenous Movement). Is what I have always said: this movement is not only for indigenous people but for every social field and everything it involves: afroamericans, peasants, Yanaconas (indigenous people).