PERREAULT Magazine MARCH | APRIL 2016 | Page 22

Xiuhtezcatl

JP: Your name is a most beautiful and unusual name- Xiuhtexcatl. How is it pronounced and what does it mean?

X: It is pronounced SHOE- TEZ-COT. It means Turquoise Mirror.

JP: What triggered your deep passion for the earth, the health of the earth, for our health, really, and how old were you when this passion was ignited?

X: As long as I can remember, I have been immersed in nature. I mean, look where I am (raised in Boulder, Colorado), mountains right over there. So, I think that kind of sense of connection, that the world around me was always present. You know when most kids around me were inside watching TV, I was outside playing in the river or lakes or mountains and exploring the forests.

My dad was amazingly adventurous. Amazingly adventurous.

He would tell me stories of when he lived in Mexico. And they were a very, very poor family, so what they had was nature. What they did was spend their time outside and immerse themselves in the natural world around them- like enjoy the magic of every moment and the beauty of every gift that we have in this life. So that kind of perspective – even me, growing up in Boulder, I never had a lot.

We were definitely a low income family; I think that gave me a kind of appreciation for the simple things in life that I was born with. I really believe in that. So that gave me that understanding, that appreciation for the grass I am sitting on and the trees and the wind I am hearing. That kind of indigenous way of thinking, that indigenous way of understanding the world too.

the POWER of

YOUTH ACTIVISM

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