“We Can Remove the Skin!”: Realising the Cosmic Race in Mexican Xilam

Abstract

Xilam is a modern martial art inspired by pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican warrior cultures, especially by the Aztec cosmological vision. As a human development system, Xilam aims to develop a young generation of Mexicans who are proud of their indigenous heritage and ancestry and are dignified as modern warriors. Its philosophy also stresses the hybrid nature of Mexican ethnicity and culture, blending indigenous, European and Asian influences. This article uses a critical, postcolonial approach to Mexican philosopher José Vasconcelos’s post-revolutionary thesis The Cosmic Race to analyse the potential philosophical meanings of concrete practices within Xilam. Examining interview and video data collected towards the end of an ethnographic project, the art of listening is adopted to show how Xilam attempts to realise the cosmic race in the twenty-first century. Our research parallels the ideas of Xilam practitioners and Vasconcelos’ thesis. It highlights how the revival of pre-Hispanic philosophical notions gives rise to “other” ways of problematising racism in Mexico without Vasconcelos’ utopian messianism. In this sense, “removing the skin” (Dzilam) is presented as an alternative to “the cosmic race”; inclusive “Diversópolis” as an alternative to “Universópolis.”