Papalotl Muyus

Papalotl Muyus (Butterfly Seeds) is a community dance film that honors the indigenous resilience of migrant communities and brings visibility to the thousands of migrant children who have not been reunited yet with their families, after being separated by the U.S. government. This film denounces all crimes against migrant peoples at the border, in protest of the racist immigration policies & systemic cruelty consistently inflicted upon afro-indigenous migrant children, women & families at the U.S. border.

Papalotl Muyus is an Independent film created by an immigrant community in New York City, directed and produced by indigenous women in collaboration with international artists.
The majority of the children and artists featured in the film are of Mexican and Ecuadorian descent, thus the name of the film is in Nahuatl and Quechua honoring the indigenous ancestral roots and histories of those who participated in the film.

Papalotl Muyus denounces the way the U.S government has separated migrant families of afro-indigenous roots. Since the Trump administration it is estimated that 5 thousand children were separated from their parents and detained, while some were killed and others died in custody.

This denunciation is amplified by children of NYC migrant families, who are the main actors and actresses of the dance film. Initially, the process of creating the film was focusing on helping the migrant community and families cope with the trauma that resulted from Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and immigration policies.

Over several weeks, dance healing workshops in preparation for filming were held and facilitated by Semillas Collective, the MayDay KYR Children’s Theatre, Ñukanchik Llakta WawaKuna and Dance To The People. Dancers from different afroindigenous communities were also invited each week to teach the children.

The dance workshops focused on healing trauma from the body, to begin healing from intergenerational trauma, colonization, colonizer borders and the current climate crisis that influences migration/displacement. The workshops taught the child participants about the urgency of caring for mother earth as our ancestors did, and the importance of healing as a community through decolonization and empowerment of our children through their afro-indigenous roots and dances.

This film also celebrates indigenous roots, identity and the continued struggles and resistance from indigenous communities all over the world. Indigenous Zapatista principles were implemented to encourage the children who participated to think collectively and discuss why autonomy and fighting for social justice is important.

The film features symbols of the monarch butterflies, demonstrating that migration is natural and has always been for natives of this continent, and includes female dancers in red dresses, symbolizing the death and disappearances of indigenous women along the US/Mexican borders. The film's sound score was originally crafted and inspired by the instruments and sounds of indigenous Mexica danza, Quechua folkloric music and the sounds of mother earth's natural elements, which represent hope and life in the film. The percussion was inspired by the indigenous Mexica danza song “Maiz” (corn) which was what the children chose to feature.

Trump’s Zero Tolerance policy was “criminal”, but the current government has never made any plans to hold anyone accountable, and instead continues to enable impunity at the border. Meanwhile, Biden's administration has also re-opened several detention centers for minors, despite civil rights and human rights organizations pointing out cruelty and human rights violations.

But the seeds of hope have already been planted.