Xochil Xitlalli Ancestral Art – Anchoring the Past, Present, and Future Through Art
Reclaiming her Indigenous culture, Xochil Xitlalli anchors the past, present, and future through her ancestral art. As an artist, reality weaver, culture bearer, storyteller, and medicine maker, she finds inspiration from her worldview through the Meso-American lens. From her name to her art, she honors her heritage.
“My art name is something that I feel was a reclamation of my Indigenous culture,” Xochil shared. “I didn’t want to use my government name anymore because my last name was my biological father’s name, who I don’t know. I was reclaiming myself and deciding who I wanted to be. Caring about my matriarchial lineage, I wanted to honor that.”
And so she changed her name to Xochil, a variation of the Nahuatl word, ‘Xochitl,’ which means ‘flower.’ This honors the connection to her matriarchs whose last name is Flores, which also means ‘flower,’
Personal and Ancestral Inspiration
Telling cultural stories through art, Xochil finds inspiration in several ways.
“My inspiration is half personal experiences, processing emotions, whether beautiful or traumatic experiences, and half through the Mesoamerican Cosmovision cosmological worldview,” she explained. “One of my motivations is to get people to explore themselves in the new.”
Through her art, Xochil enjoys acting as a muse for others, lifting them up while helping them rediscover their identities.
Starting Her Art Business
After gaining an interest in art at a young age, Xochil stopped for a while when people discouraged her from pursuing art as a job. Starting again as a small hobby and gig in 2010, she made folk art and crafty art pieces like sugar skulls. She then got into First Friday, worked on more art, and grew from there. Around 2020, she started taking her art more seriously, making it one of her jobs.
From there, she overcame financial barriers to business and the challenge of people criticizing her choices. From saying it wasn’t worthwhile to pursue art as a job to telling her she needed a degree to do it “properly,” negativity was all around. Ignoring what people said, Xochil continues to grow her business, impacts many people’s lives through her art and support of others, and learns more about herself in the process.
Malinalli Productions
With her husband and partner, Juan Cuevas – Quetzal Visions, Xochil co-runs Malinalli Productions, a dynamic company that shares artwork and helps emerging artists.
Launched in 2021, Malinalli Productions does consulting work to support local artists stepping into the realm of running their own art business.
Through workshops and events, artists are given the opportunity to learn the processes and have space to sell their art and generate an income.
The Meaning of Art to Xochil
To Xochil, art is an expression of the self.
“I like to make art that makes people rethink their own identity and places in existence; we’re all Indigenous to some place, and because of national identities, we forget that. Because of the social issues in the world, we’re disconnected from that and the atrocities happening. We disconnect from them because we see ourselves as separate entities, as Americans or whatever identity we have,” she said. “Art offers a deeper self-exploration that can lead to more compassion for other humans.”
With her art and her work, Xochil also shared her favorite part of it all.
“I love sharing a moment with a stranger, connecting with them over a piece of art,” she said. “With Malinalli Productions, I also experience that ‘proud mom’ moment with the artists we support. One of our young artists had made something, and I complimented her. She said I inspired her.”
Overall, she enjoys acting as a muse for others, lifting them up, and being an example for them to succeed in their art and journeys of self-discovery.
“A lot of people don’t claim indigeneity because of racism, so seeing other people do it gives them the courage and encouragement to do the same.”
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Looking to the Future
Her Goals
Xochil has a few goals she’s working towards with her art and Malinalli Productions.
“With my art, I really want to get into more mural work,” she said. “And I want to share more cultural things, like making more educational material. I just released the second edition of my coloring book at the recent Las Vegas Book Festival!”
With Malinalli Productions, Xochil added that she wants to host more workshops that align with her goal of sharing cultural education.
And she shared that she wants to travel more with her art, with Oaxaca, Mexico, on her bucket list for this goal.
The Coming Administration
With the work that Xochil Xitlalli does through her art and with Malinalli Productions, she is approaching the new year and incoming administration with intention, boundaries, and community care.
To start, she continues to not engage with people arguing on the internet and limits how much information is put out there about where she’ll be.
“I am protecting my safety of self and my community. We’re being more vigilant, paying more attention to our surroundings, and being mindful of where we’re putting ourselves,” she said. “We have to be careful about posting where we are to keep each other safe, and we have to check in with each other.”
With the budget cuts looming from the Trump administration, Clark County is looking to take a hit for the arts.
“People are tired and afraid,” Xochil said. “So we want to foster a sense of community in tangible ways and offer an outlet and distraction for people. And we want to share ways to alleviate compassion fatigue.”
#GetinMotion with Xochil Xitlalli Ancestral Art
There are several ways to support Xochil Xitlalli and her art!
Follow Xochil Xitlalli Ancestral Art on Instagram and Facebook, and check out her art on the Malinalli Productions website.
To buy her art, order through Malinalli Productions or visit her at local pop-ups and markets throughout the year. You can also buy her art and stickers inside Meow Wolf’s Area 15. In addition, Xochil sometimes vends at the monthly First Friday Festival. She was the featured artist for the December 6 event.
Lastly, Xochil shared that engaging with her art is one of the best ways to support her.
“I love when people ask me something, and we can have a conversation,” she said. “Come to the events; it supports us and local businesses.”
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