Neto’ Nakto’: We Are

A little about Neto’ (Us)…

Who are we? Just two Los Angeles girls working in a system that would have us believe that we have achieved the best we could ever hope to be. However this is the beginning for us in a world where most people are trying to be anybody else, we have taken it upon ourselves to to take a few steps back and redraw our paths as the single traveler paths that they were… to a more communal path. Our mission: to share our diverse culture with anyone who is willing to learn and hopefully share our passion to reconnect to our roots, preserve our culture and pass it on.

Bris:

” The idea developed because I wanted to do something to help preserve my parents’ native language, Zapoteco. I noticed that the younger generations including my own don’t know how to speak the language or lack an understanding thereof. The promising thing was that they showed an interest in learning. After noticing the lack of easily accessible resources to refer them to I decided to take action …any action in an attempt to preserve the language that I personally take pride in speaking. A language that helps me communicate with my grandparents as well as elder members of our community. The language conversation sparked something bigger which brought us here: Neto’ was envisioned. The language was only part of the disconnect with our culture. What we hope to achieve is to build a space and community were we help each other learn, preserve and share our culture by empowering each other and encourage everyone to find something to help them make that connection to their culture.”

Jess:

“I have spoken the language since a young age, and let me tell you there is nothing I am more proud of than switching between languages at will. I was fortunate enough to have spent time living in Oaxaca in my childhood. This has really helped me strengthen the connection I have to my culture over time. Growing up I used to feel embarrassed when my parents would address me in Zapoteco in public. Today I am honored to be among the few people who still preserve this beautiful but dying language, it gives me a sense of identity in the world. I am thankful to Bris for bringing me on with this project by sharing her vision with me. So here we go.”