Today we’d like to introduce you to Flor.
Hi Flor , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in a small town off the 101 known as Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County. Growing up in a town focused on agriculture, my grandparents and parents made it clear they dreamed of bigger pursuits for their family. My family and I are Zapotecos from the Central Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, which has influenced my identity more than anything else. My parents made it clear they wanted for me to never forget our Indigenous roots. They often shared with me bits and pieces of their own lives from before I was born. These stories are the foundation of my passion for archiving. I loved reading as a kid- I would spend hours at the Santa Maria Public Library visiting all sorts of worlds through books. I knew from a young age I wanted to write too, but I wasn’t sure how to actually become a writer.I was first introduced to the idea of zines in a class while I was at UC San Diego. My professor, Melissa Bañales, introduced me to the concept through the lens of the Riot GRRRL movement. She encouraged me to distribute my own work through zines and helped to ground some of my anxieties around having my work perceived. As the final project for Profe Bañales class I created Riot GRRRL is 4 Every1 which is the first zine that I created and distributed. This was the birth of Cempazuchitl’s Library as a community storytelling project.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being self published been a blessing. I feel protective of the stories I tell. I don’t shy away from topics considered taboo or controversial. The nature of the stories I am sharing put me in very vulnerable places, but I have been able to connect to people in real authentic ways.
As far as the work behind Cempazuchitl’s Library, I have been on a road of discovery. Zine making is very fluid, but it’s also troubleshooting. When I am working on projects, I struggle with words or layout or the best way to convey certain feelings to the reader. I’m lucky I have a lot of creative friends that work through these struggles with me and help to improve my storytelling.
I am my distributor, social media manager, I am the main presence behind the work I do, however this all collective work. It is important for me to acknowledge that I would not be able to do all this without the support of the Oaxacan community, my friends, and my family that has constantly affirmed that I am honoring them.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Through the creation of Cempazuchitl’s Library, I center my work around the idea of “Creating Indigenous Futures”. With every workshop, panel, zine, or other creative project I engage in, I center the need to world build. For me, the act of world building is to imagine different futures- better futures for peoples who have faced historic marginalization. Through this process of imagination, we can begin to create the world we envision.
I am proud to have been raised amongst working class migrant Indigenous folks on the Central Coast. My hope is to always uplift and support and give back to the community in Santa Maria. Part of what I aim to do with Cempazuchitl’s Library is create reciprocal relationships with my communities through regular redistribution of profits. Through certain projects or collaborations, I engage in a regular practice of mutual aid to continue to uplift the communities whose stories intersect with my own. As a diasporic Zapotec, I am firm in my responsibility to my pueblo and paisanos.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I believe art is more necessary than ever before. With the grim direction of human rights in the United States and in the world, it is important to be able to humanize each other. Art is a segue through which we can have more complex and difficult conversations. Storytelling is also a way of documenting our personal histories. I have seen the need for a greater collective memory to be able prevent tragedies from occurring again. It’s necessary for people to begin telling their own stories- especially when they are hard to tell.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cempazuchitls-library.square.site
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cempazuchitls_library/
