Matlatzinca language revitalization project launched in State of Mexico

Educator Ermelando Mendoza Domínguez is leading the project ‘Uniendo voces en Matlatzinca’ (Rukurre ne bemueni fot’ una) in San Francisco Oxtotilpan, State of Mexico, to prevent the extinction of the Matlatzinca language. The initiative uses a musical pedagogical methodology to revitalize the language, which currently exists only orally and lacks widespread historical written records.

The project is supported by the Multilingual and Community Cultural Actions Program (PACMyC) of the Mexican Secretariat of Culture, in alliance with the Government of the State of Mexico. This effort aims to reverse the impact of historical discrimination from the 1970s and 1980s, when indigenous children faced punishments for speaking their native tongue in schools, leading parents to prioritize Spanish to avoid social hostility.