On November 22, the Fiesta de las Culturas Comunitarias 2025 (Festival of Community Cultures) titled “Yoltlajtoli: Living Voices” will take place at the Zócalo in Mexico City — a national gathering celebrating the artistic, linguistic, and musical expression of children and youth from Indigenous communities across Mexico.
The announcement was made on Friday during President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo’s morning press conference at the National Palace. A wind band and choir composed of students from the Cuicallis (Houses of Song for Indigenous Children) — part of the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) — performed traditional pieces that showcased the program’s community-based work.
Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Secretary of Culture, explained that the Cuicallis are creative and educational spaces inspired by the ancient Mexica “houses of knowledge.” She noted that this year, the program worked with more than 5,000 children, marking a 65% growth in the community culture initiative.
The 2025 edition will be hosted in Mexico City, with plans to rotate it among other states in future years. The event will also feature musicians from the Monumental Pilares Orchestra and young artists from community cultural spaces such as Los Faros, celebrating Mexico’s linguistic and artistic diversity.
Adelfo Regino Montes, General Director of INPI, highlighted the importance of the initiative:
“We’re very proud that in our Indigenous schoolhouses and dining centers — around 1,400 across the country serving 64,000 children — we now include music and language education alongside housing and meals. Today is truly a day of celebration.”
Javier Hidalgo Ponce, head of the Pilares program, announced that 350 children from the Monumental Orchestra will participate, calling it “one of the largest community projects in the world.”
During the event, María José Moreno, from Ixtolco de Morelos, Puebla, delivered a moving message in Nahuatl, emphasizing the importance of preserving Indigenous languages:
“Every time we speak Nahuatl, we speak with the hearts of our ancestors. We want our language to remain alive among the children of our communities — and never be lost.”