Indigenous Artists in Chicago Turn Craft Into Cultural Resistance

By Jenna Mayzouni

Medill Reports

Northwestern University

The sound of the Huehuetl drum thuds gently against the ground as Sergio places it down on the cement playground in Harrison Park, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. 

His wife, Ana, places offerings in front of the drums and begins preparing the copal incense for the practice of the day. They are usually the first to arrive. 

Children run through the park, zooming around the drums. Ana and Sergio sit on the side of the playground and begin to tie their ayoyotes, which are percussion instruments meant for the ankles. Members of the group arrive and greet them and then don their ayoyotes with similar leatherwork to Ana’s and Sergio’s. 

That’s because over the years, Ana and Sergio, who asked for their last names not to be included, have made many of the regalia pieces for the members of their Aztec Danza group, Huehuecoyotl. 

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Ana and other members of the dance group Huehuecoytl dancing at the Pilsen Powwow on July 27. (Jenna Mayzouni/MEDILL)