SUMMER TO FALL: GRIEF AND GROWTH, TRANSITIONS AND TRIUMPHS.
[tbt to that time we were in vogue lol]
This past summer, we’ve gone through transformation. Rest. Grief. Growth. Abundance and tribulations. But always remembering who we are.
Since our inception, Mariposas Rebeldes has grown to 5 core members, all with very different experiences, backgrounds, and goals … But we have all come together with a common vision to create spaces for Latine folks to build relationships outside of capitalism with each other and with the land. Below, are some deeper-than-an-Instagram-post-reflections on the things we’ve been up to. We hope to intentionally reflect like this every few months. Updates on our land that we are stewarding, which we call Bosque Itzpapalotl [Bos-ke Eets-pa-pa-lotl], will come soon!Â
Dandelion Fest: Our Anti-capitalist baby
This summer we’ve done a lot, both personally and as a group! But we are super proud that amidst all the chaos, we were able to pull off Dandelion Fest: our claim to fame; our baby; our second year embarking on creating an anti-capitalist space where people can share in the abundance that they and the Earth have to offer, without having the corruption of money involved. We are taking the memories, conversations, and connections that occurred at Dandy Fest with us and applying those lessons to everything we do. Post-Dandy, we created a Cambalache Facebook page, to continue to gift economy in our networks, and encourage people to rely on each other more and on the systems oppressing us less. We also are digging deeper into our anti-capitalist theory + praxis, by taking a class with original Cambalacheres en Chiapas (more of that below), and continuing to bring Cambalache (or free stores) wherever we can, like in Weelaunee forest (more about that below too lol) It brings us so much joy to hear people talk about Dandelion Fest and the memories they made there.
Ultimately, as queer & trans Latine & Indigenous folks just trying to survive in late-stage capitalism, we hope that our work and resistance inspires others to do the same in their communities, or, hell, join us!
Un Poquito Sobre Nuestro verano (A little bit about us; Our Summer):
Mariposa Jesse (AKA Yesika Esmeralda Amanita), recently left her role as the director of the Trans Housing Coalition, after two years. She’s been moving through that transition, trying to find joy, shifting to doing more autonomous organizing to Stop Cop City and with Mariposas, learning to love herself more and more. Abundia has continued to Mariposiar back and forth from Tennessee and Atlanta, like the true Mariposa she is. Back and forth she is building bridges and weaving webs of abundance between Nashville, Middle TN and Atlanta. She also visited her Muscogee ceremonial grounds for the first time since the pandemic. Also, she finally got all her teeth work done! Edricito had been dealing with health and relationship changes and transitions, trying to survive the queer non-profit industrial complex, but remembering to find joy in the little things: like painting and poetry. Israel has started a new job with Community food scapes and has remained our grounding Mariposa for our group, PJ has been surviving the food service industry as a trans person while still holding it down with the Mariposas--and both Isa & PJ have held it down with our land project and continued to learn to steward and build up the infrastructure for our land and building relationships in the South with other queer-indigenous led land projects.Â
Cambalache: Learning from Indigenous Anti-Capitalist Praxis:
One of the many things we are doing is taking a class with the El Cambalache San Cristobal Project. The classes are hosted twice a year and teach folks all around the world about their anti-capitalist Cambalache project in Chiapas, México. We are excited and grateful to be learning from badass Indigenous organizers who are doing amazing work in their native countries to reclaim land, resources, and power. In Chiapas, there is even an autonomous system for their water that isn’t reliant on the state. We are excited to continue to expand our anti-capitalist theory + praxis by applying what we learn while continuing to heal from the effects of capitalism and colonialism that make us disconnected from the land and each other. The Cambalacheras (they are a 100% women-led project) are currently battling being evicted from their space. We will be working to uplift their efforts in a more formal way, but for now, donate to their GoFundme.
Mariposas Defend Weelaunee:
Aside from the land, we’ve been involved in the struggle to defend the Weelaunee forest (aka South River forest) and stop Cop City in varying capacities. Most recently, we put out a Cambalache Free Store during the last Week of Action (WoA) in late July, taking what we learned from the Dandelion fest, our Cambalache class, and offering it to the movement! What began as a modest free store for the kick off celebration of the WoA, turned into a grounding piece of the week of action. People who both live in (self-described forest defenders & tree sitters) and those who were visiting for the WoA visited the tent to have a respite from the forest, to get or donate a new outfit, literature, and many other things. During the kick off event, people traded Reishi mushrooms and herbs for seeds with us, we met new people and re-connected with people we’ve met over the years, and became part of a collective effort to reclaim the Weelaunee park and forest from the hands of the state. We believe we will collectively stop their plan to further desecrate the land by turning it into a militarized police zone. The goal is to reclaim the space for the people—all people—but, particularly the Black and brown folks who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. No one should have to raise their children with the sounds of gunshots from the Police shooting range nearby disrupting sleep.     Â
Mariposas Return to the GayborhoodÂ
Virgo season was generative for us Mariposas, and we have (mostly) moved through Libra season with grace. We are sowing the seeds for the following year, and solidifying traditions that we’ve been cooking up together for now two and a half years. In September, we went back to the “Gayborhood”, a communal queer & trans community that lives on many plots of land on Short Mountain. The Gayborhood has hosted the Mariposas for two “work” retreats now. The first time was in 2020, when the pandemic first started and we had just come together. It was a transformative experience then and now. We stayed in Breathwood, a beautiful home with more infrastructure than most of the housing on the mountain and in the Gayborhood. Breathwood was first owned by a Faerie as their private residence. Abundia had connections to the owners who opened the space to us.
This year, we returned to some beautiful changes. Breathwood is no longer owned by a single affluent Faerie, but instead has moved into a collective land trust and communal stewardship by the Queer & Trans folks who live on the mountain. Pre-colonization, the lands of the Gayborhood were used as communal hunting grounds for several tribes (namely the Yuchi, Cherokee, Musckogee). Breathwood is a small step towards moving the land back into communal ownership and stewardship, something that many on the mountain have also done for the last 40 years. We also got to rest, rejoice, and scheme for the upcoming year of rebeldĂas. Also on the mountain, we celebrated our co-fundadora Abundia’s birthday, made tortillas and arepas from scratch (with nixtamal and a molinito) nursed a baby squirrel back to life, and danced under the Pisces harvest moon - reveling in the abundance that this summer has brought us. We hope to continue to learn from the communities being built on this magical mountain….
A belated birthday Shout-out to our founding Mariposa, Abundia!
Didn’t wish our Abundia a happy birthday? You still can! By sending her some belated birthday-coin. Abundia has been the glue, the water to our masa, the fire beneath the Mariposas since she and Israel started having the conversations about abundance, food sovereignty, and connecting to our cultura, back in early (pre-COVID) 2020, during their trip to Tenochtitlan [tuh·nowch·teet·laan] or so-called Mexico City.Â
Abundia has had a transformative year. She has split her time between Springfield, TN and Atlanta, the latter where she has worked tirelessly para la comunidad. She is leading the work to continue including Muscogee folks in the efforts to Stop Cop City and Defend Weelaunee Forest. She also stays weaving, expanding, and worshiping a southern web of abundance. She is helping open spaces in the South focused on Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ people connecting holistically with one another and nature. In particular, she works with the Chinkapin Land Collective, in Woodbury, Tennessee, is board member for Breathwood, and has participated in getting to know other collectives such as the Passion Vine Collective in south Florida.Â
Abundia does most of this work without pay, and without enough funds for gas and phone bills. We need to compensate our Black, Indigenous, Queer + Trans elders as much as possible for their labor! To pay Abundia for her labor, see her payment info in the graphic below:
If you read this far, you are a real ass Mariposa. As for us? We’re older, wiser, hotter, and trans-er, two+ years into a pandemic and into being in relationship with each other and all of the community and land we’ve touched in so-called Atlanta.