Behind the Mic: Ancestral Activism With Danzantes Metzli & Anthony of All Nations Rise

For the past year, Metzli Aragón and Anthony Zapata have uplifted the music of artists in the Native community on their Sunday morning program on KUVO All Nations Rise airing 8-9 a.m. MT.

Anthony Zapata: They are remarkable. They are incredible musicians, composers, actors, comedians, Indigenous Tribal community members and they are unseen, they are unheard, and we have all these major radio stations that just overlook them and so the music that we tend to play on the air is just for that, for Indigenous to get a powerful message across. To present a different perspective that Indigenous people are not just all about flute music and chanting and drumming. We are artists, we are musicians, composers, poets and directors.

They are Aztec or Mexika dancers and educators in the Mexicayotl tradition and artisans. Metzli and Anthony lead a Kalpulli or community of Mexika dancers who share these traditions in community spaces to provide spiritual healing and cultural awareness.

Metzli Aragón: We've been going about 2 years now and our mission is preserving Indigenous culture, heritage, promoting spiritual connection and healing, building community empowerment, Indigenous education, history and culture, advocating for social justice, Indigenous rights.. These missions highlight the significance of Aztec or Mexika dance beyond performance, embracing the role in cultural preservation, spiritual growth, and community development and identity. 

Across Colorado, they hold educational workshops of music, theater, and art, from Indigenous traditions of Anahuac Mexiko and Turtle Island, often sharing sacred dances and instruments with both native and non-native youth.

Metzli Aragón: It could be just hearing the drum, learning about a story, and we find that it engages people from all different cultures, from all over the world that they can connect to this. And so it's really just activating what's within us.

Anthony and Metzli stopped by The Morning Set with a few of the instruments they crafted and honor with each ceremony to talk about their ongoing outreach in our community.