andrés ehecatl aguilar

Andrés Ehecatl Aguilar, Ph.D. [anˈdɾɛs eˈhekat͡ɬ aɡiˈlaɾ] is trained as a linguist and is an expert on Mesoamerican cultural practices and aesthetics. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the San Diego State University Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies. His work focuses on the Mesoamerican roots of the Chicana/o/e identity. 

As a trained linguist, he works closely with Indigenous communities in the United States and Mexico and has conducted extensive research on Chicontepec Náhuatl and Ja’a Kumiai. His linguistic research focuses on languages of the Americas. His interests are in phonology, phonetics, morphophonology, fieldwork, language description & revitalization, and sociolinguistics. 

As a lifelong folklorist, dancer, and teacher in the Danza Azteca-Chichimeca-Conchera tradition (La Danza), he has experience in performance and theater production, choreography, lighting, graphic, and regalia design. Currently he is developing an archive of testimonios of practitioners of this dance tradition to explore the ties between this movement in the U.S. and the Chicano Movement, as well as recent transnational developments in the La Danza. As a scholar/artist who grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border, Andrés continuously crosses borders in his academic, artistic, and community work.

Contact: aaguilar26 [at] sdsu [dot] edu