Community members of all ages gathered recently at Summit Community Gardens & EATS to connect to their cultural identities through planting corn seeds.
Vicky K’ulub Lowe, who runs the Born from Corn program for Artes de Mexico en Utah, said the seeds are a traditional Mayan way of planting personal hopes and dreams.
She said there is a misconception that Mayan culture no longer exists, but the May 27 ceremony demonstrated just the opposite.
“I don’t like to talk about these ceremonies as events,” she said. “Rather, they are community meetings in which we give thanks for what we have, we make requests and we make offerings.”
“La Milpa” has no direct one-word translation, but it represents a traditional Mesoamerican agricultural system led through cultural tradition and ceremony.
This ceremony was led by Lowe’s mother and aunt, who do it every year when they visit Utah from Mexico. Lowe’s mother, Maria Elena Lowe, said the traditions and authority were passed down from her own family.
Before planting, the corn seeds are laid out with flower petals, candles and other culturally significant objects used as offerings.
As with the corn seeds, each item has significance: incense lifts and carries prayers skyward, while candles light a path toward realizing a dream.
Finally, Lowe’s mother got on her knees and blessed the seeds in her native language, Maya Tzeltal.
Lowe said the prayer is not a religious prayer, but one focused on gratitude for the earth and physical things that give life.
It is meant to connect participants with the land while they give back to it through planting the seeds.
Anna Frachou brought her two-year-old son to the ceremony. She said her hope was that their seeds would represent health, happiness and peace for her family.
Having grown up in LA with a Cuban father, she said it's important for her son to go to activities that represent his story, culture and their family roots.
“I want my son to grow up in this community recognizing that he has a community,” she said. “I want him to also feel identified and represented within this community.”
Lowe has lived in the United States for 20 years, but said it can be difficult for Latinos to find a feeling of belonging in a community where their culture is not always understood.
“If we don’t continue telling our stories our kids pass through a crisis of identity in which they don’t know where they belong, they don’t know their stories and that’s very important to strengthen their sense of identity and their self-esteem,” she said.
Lowe said that as the ceremony grows, they hope to find Latino community members with traditions here in Park City who can take the lead.
La Milpa will have two more activities this summer as the seeds grow. The next event is July 17 and the final activity will be August 26.
Ve esta historia en el español aquí.
