Maya Zazhil Fernández

Maya Zazhil Fernández grew up in the Pilsen and Little Village neighborhoods of Chicago as a third generation Mexican-Peruvian. Coming from a family of musicians, linguists, and cultural workers, at an early age she developed a passion for and commitment to musical traditions, specifically son jarocho from Veracruz, Mexico. Having experienced the power of traditional arts in strengthening cultural identity for Black and Brown communities in the U.S., she is committed to the preservation and practice of Afro-Indigenous music traditions as a form of community building, resistance, and healing. She carries out this work as a founding member of the son jarocho collective Jarochicanos, the bilingual arts education organization Son Chiquitos, and the all-female Puerto Rican bomba and plena ensemble Las BomPleneras.