Luis J. Rodriguez: Death of an Indigenous Elder

“Don Luis Martinez was a local mechanic in the Chicago barrio of Pilsen for many years. A hard-working man with long ties in the community and in Mexico, he was also more than that — he was en elder in the Mexikayotl native traditions of Mexico. Around ten years ago, he gave me my Mexika/Nahuatl name, Xikome Tochtli, in a beautiful ceremony in my back yard — with my family and the Blazquez family (all four of whom also received their names that day) and a few friends.”

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