The Last Resort Host Talks Indigenous Futurism, Music & Social Activism

 You might think that a podcast that documents an organized movement for California to succeed from the United States would be a dizzy narrative about hippies, tree huggers, and people on the fringes. You might roll your eyes and whisper, "California people," but the podcast doesn't judge. It explains and clarifies.

It's not. Instead, it's an insightful and compelling narrative about competing visions for the United States. This podcast is especially timely now, since earlier this year, the Texas Republican Party in June urged the Texas legislature to require a referendum on Texas succeeding from the union. Even Mississippi has made noise about leaving the union, but the state can find no one to say stop.

Anyway, this documentary podcast series is hosted by activist and musician Xiuhtezcatl (phonetic spelling: shoo-TEZ-kaht), follows the rise, fall, and rebirth of Calexit: the campaign for Californian Independence.

The first two episodes premiered on October 18. New single episodes will be released weekly on Tuesdays

Xiuhtezcatl, a musician, activist, and a prolific voice for his generation, is a gifted narrator for the first season of the podcast. In the eight episodes, he dives deep into the rise, fall, and rebirth of the Calexit movement (a campaign for California’s independence) to explore what would happen if California seceded from the United States. 

Over eight half-hour episodes, Xiuhtezcatl guides listeners through Calexit’s origin story, the organizers’ alternative vision for America’s future, and how two friends who started on the political fringe ended up in the middle of a still-unfolding global criminal conspiracy involving the FBI and Russian Intelligence.  

The Last Resort  was developed by Interval Presents, Warner Music Group’s (WMG) in-house podcast network, and produced by Awfully Nice. 

“What drew me to exploring the Calexit story was how it forced us to examine the things that fundamentally connect us while underscoring how we are more divided than ever as a country,” said Xiuhtezcatl, who was influenced from childhood by his Indigenous Mexican lineage and American upbringing to use his voice and his music to pursue social change. “Calexit is really just the entry point for a complex story about the many visions of the future that are competing to take root,”  Xiuhtezcatl continued. “I’m excited for the opportunity to partner with Interval Presents on The Last Resort. I hope the show inspires conversation and thought around the issues and stories that are shaped by our history and that will determine our future.”

Check out the episodes of The Last Resort.

 The Last Resort host Xiuhtezcatl  was kind enough to take time from his hectic schedule to answer some questions. 

Here is the interview with Xiuhtezcatl.

Q. How did you get involved with this project?

A. The producers reached out over a year ago to gauge my interest, and when they first hit me up I didn't know much of anything about secession or CALEXIT. I didn't really understand why they'd selected me to host this show, but as the story unfolded and we dove deeper into the systemic issues at the heart of this story, it made more and more sense. Once I saw the bigger picture behind the story they were trying to tell, and saw that they were interested in me coming on as a partner in shaping the show and working on the music, I knew it was a good fit.

Q. What drew you to this podcast series?

A. I've spent much of my life thinking critically about what the future could look like. Assessing and learning from movements that have historically and presently shaped our reality. And this theme of the different visions competing to shape the future that ‘The Last Resort’ explores really pulled me in. I saw the show and the theme of secession as an entry point to a larger conversation around the future of California, and of this country.

Q. How has your Indigenous Mexican lineage and American upbringing motivated you to use your voice and music to pursue social change?

A. My people are Xochimilca, an Indigenous community from Xochimilco Mexico. Growing up with our traditional teachings laid the foundation for how I saw the world, and how I saw myself as a part of it.

Q. What’s your musical background? What genre (s) do you enjoy?

A. I was pretty musical from a young age, learning to play classical piano and composing my own songs starting at the age of seven and my parents had a super eclectic taste in music, listening to everything from cumbia to classic rock and world music. In the last couple of years I've fallen deeper in love with neo-soul music and gravitate towards left of center R&B and hip-hop. But one of the coolest things about this younger generation of artists is our ambition to relinquish genres and artistic boundaries, and the blurriness of the creative lines it gives way to. Seeing R&B fusing with folk instruments and pop song structures, and punk and grunge culture blending into the rap scene, while Latin America has its whole own fusion of modern and classic sounds influencing its evolution. Tyler, the Creator put a fricken reggae song on his Gangsta Grillz mixtape. Everyone’s just coloring outside the lines, and it makes an artist like myself who's never fully fit in anywhere feel more at ease.

Q. Can you tell me about your music? Its form and flow? The messages in the music?

A. Music has always been an important part of my cultural identity. Passing on our traditional songs was a means of cultural preservation for my family, and one of the ways I grew up learning pieces of my people’s language, Nahuatl. I think my musical and melodic instincts are really influenced by my early relationship to traditional songs. I really started making music as a writer, influenced by the politically sharp lyrics of KRSONE and Talib Kweli and the prolyphic poetry and live instrumentation behind artists like The Roots. I dropped my first album when I was 18, but it took me until the last couple years to really find my voice. I've always loved how music and art can be so immersive, and how artists build entire worlds within their albums, or even within songs. I think there's no better example of this in hip-hop today than Kendrick Lamar. I draw lots of inspiration from artists like him, as well as Latin hip-hop legends like Calle 13 and Ana Tijoux who really were the first artists I heard that really made me want to learn to rap well in Spanish.

As I've traveled the world and worked with amazing artists that have a shared optimism in our art being more than just entertainment, my belief in music as a tool for revolution has only further affirmed. We played damn near 100 shows in 2018 and 2019, and there's something about telling your story from a stage like that, through poetry, and melody and rhythm that just hits so differently from anything else I've done. My music has changed and evolved so much since I started releasing music, but I'd say it's really reflective of my lived experience as a young mixed Indigenous kid who dreams of a future much different than the world I see around us. And I think art can be a doorway to that future, a glimpse into a world  we believe is possible and worth fighting for.

Q. You’ve been very involved in environmental activism. Why? What needs to be done in this area?

A. We are the land. Climate justice was my entrypoint into being politicized, and understanding the deep interconnectedness between our struggles for liberation. I've come to understand the climate as an umbrella that connects and ties together every other social issue humanity faces. From health crises like pandemics and viruses, to gender inequality, to economic disparity and housing insecurity, all these are exacerbated by a changing climate. I also have come to understand the climate crisis as a symptom of colonialism, capitalism and white supremacy. 

The extractive relationship the western world has branded as "progress" that fuels the climate crisis, exploits poor Black and Brown communities and destroys our shared water, air and lands, is a continuation of the colonial violence that lies at the foundation of this country. We must rapidly transition our energy economy, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and center the voices of frontline communities as we build a new vision of what our future can be. The urgency literally couldn't be greater. It is a matter of cultural survival, for all of us. And the only way through the storm is together.

Q. Can you discuss Earth Guardians, the youth organization in which you are the director?

A. My mother founded Earth Guardians in 1992 as a high school in Maui, Hawaii, and in the following decade and a half it became a worldwide network of young organizers and community leaders from Bhutan to Togo to Mexico and across the U.S., all dedicated to environmental awareness, youth leadership and climate justice. It was a really important part of my family's history, with three generations of my family playing significant roles in the growth and evolution of the organization. I grew up watching old VHS tapes of my older siblings performing and speaking to youth across the continent about the power our generation has to shape our future, fight for human rights and environmental justice, and play our part as guardians of the earth. That backdrop is what allowed me to get involved at such a young age. It made me fearless to fight for what I believed in, and created an environment for my voice and my leadership to flourish. In my time as Youth Director, I saw that so many youth across the globe had a desire to be a part of fighting for our future and the planet, but lacked the resources, support and guidance to engage meaningfully. And so that's what Earth Guardians essentially dedicated itself to creating, a platform for youth everywhere to channel their passion and ambition for building a brighter future. I was the Youth Director up until 2019, and in 2020 my family and I have parted ways with the organization as it's undergone changes in its leadership and gone in a different direction.

Q. Did you see yourself being involved in more podcasting in the future?

A. I see lots of potential to tell important stories through this medium, and watching ‘The Last Resort’ come to life, and the nuance of these issues definitely got me brainstorming. There are so many topics I'd love to dive into, like the unique experience of being an Indigenous immigrant in the U.S. and the relationship between colonial borders and Indigenous nations, or the role of art and music in revolutionary movements throughout history. And I have so many brilliant friends and mentors I've met over the course of my life that I could see an unscripted dialogue type of podcast in the cards at some point. Not sure how it will look but I'm sure there's much work ahead in this space.

Q. How did you find The Last Resort narration experience?

A. It was definitely challenging at first. It took some time to settle into the role of being a narrator, of presenting a whole story that touched on many perspectives and ideologies that I didn't always align with, but were important to illustrate for the sake of the broader story. As an organizer and spokesperson, I'm used to having to really stand by what I say and speak from a place of lived experience.

In the end, I feel we struck a really good balance. I was lucky to have had a really supportive team that valued my perspective and incorporated it into their vision for the show. We all pushed each other outside of our comfort zones. Editing as we went and ensuring that the podcast was both showing the full picture, and still felt like it was in my voice kept me connected to the story we were telling. It's a pretty complex and dense idea the team wanted to go after. I'm really proud of how engaging it turned out.

Q. What projects are you working on now?

A. I've been working on an album for the last couple years, slowly growing and evolving the sound and story that I want to tell. Very excited to bring it fully to fruition. I finally made the move to LA recently, so I'm working with lots of new producers and artists which has been amazing. I'm also working with an Indigenous K-12 school here in LA called Anahuacalmecac to help develop a pilot program to teach music production, songwriting and composition by reinterpreting our traditional songs and instruments in a modern context. The project bridges the worlds of modern music, ancestral knowledge and Indigenous futurism. As the world opens up, I've started to return to speak at colleges and conferences worldwide, sharing my story and analysis on the intersection of Indigenous resistance, climate justice and cultural revolution. 

*******

 Some people just want to gripe about the state of the world. Others enjoy blaming others for their plight. Still others view the world as a zero-sum game where they can only get more if others get less.

Xiuhtezcatl is none of these things. He's a young man passionate about his indigenous roots and ancestral culture. He's a talented musician with much to say with his music. He's an activist, championing environmental awareness, youth leadership and climate justice. He's a teller of stories, whether on a podcast, in his music or through his activism. 

He's somebody we should all listen to.

Listen to The Last Resort here.

 

Xiuhtezcatl