Meet Willy
Willy Barreno took up arms and joined the guerilla movement at the age of eighteen during the Guatemalan Civil War. After his involvement in the guerrilla movement, he migrated to Wisconsin in search of a better life. While in the U.S., he worked as a chef and as a grassroots organizer on indigenous and human rights issues in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Texas, and Illinois. After twelve years of living in the U.S., he decided to return to Guatemala to regain his identity, rediscover his roots, and help create the Guatemalan Dream.
Meet Javier
Javier is the son of a Maya Rab'inaleb' father and Italian-American mother, born in Guatemala and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland just outside of Washington, DC. In his upbringing, Javier was able to travel frequently to Guatemala where he was able to connect with his family and his Maya identity. These experiences shaped his life outlook and led him to learn more about Meso American history and culture during his university studies. In 2022, he was able to connect with Willy and the Popol Nah Decolonizing Time sessions, which allowed him to further delve into his Meso American identity. Through these connections, the Chiltepes Chilerxs project was born.
The Chiltepes Chilerxs Origin Story
The Chiltepes Chilerxs project emerged in a casual conversation between Willy and his friend Karen as they chatted in Central Park in 2008. As they were discussing their lives and situations as migrants in the United States, Willy and Karen thought about the experience that children of immigrants and children who migrated to the US at early age face when growing up in a society faraway from their homelands. How will their experiences in North America shape their sense of identity? Will they be able to recognize and connect to their homelands? How will they connect to the land they or their parents migrated from?
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As they contemplated the realities of the growing generations of children of Meso American descent in North America, they coined the term "chiltepes chilerxs" as a way to identify these up and coming generations. Willy had asked Karen, "what's something that you miss about Guatemala?". Her response was "the chiltepes". Willy's response was "chilero" (Guatemalan for "cool"). And hence the term "chiltepes chilerxs" was born.
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What makes the "chiltepes chilerxs" term unique is that it fosters a sense of connection to the land through food and popular culture. Though we may not have been raised in the land of the chiltepe, we are connected to our homelands through our foods, traditions, languages and family ties.