Sak Tzuvel is an Indigenous Maya rock band formed in Zinacatan Chiapas, Mexico. With the lineup rotating in its history, the group's members are currently the founder, guitarist, and vocalist Damian Martinez, the drummer Enrique Martinez, and the bassist Francisco Martinez. All the members are of Tzotzil descent, indigenous people with linguistic and cultural ties to other highland Maya peoples, in Zinacatan the population of the Indigenous is 99.1%.

“They criticized me, saying that there is no point in singing in the language because they do not understand each other, the same as singing in Russia, and in the end, their messages do not arrive anyway, so you will be very closed. And what's more, as I expected, if there is a musician who studied Hispanic music, they play Hispanic music, but we are not playing Hispanic music, it is rock and incorporating music that influences and attracts people. And also go and sing in your language anywhere in the world, and you don't have to do Spanish. So we have to find those walls, because if you speak Spanish, you don't understand a language, it doesn't benefit you. The message is even if you don't understand another language, I can also do the same thing in my language. That's the message.” ~ Francisco Martinez

Starting the band, it’s natural to feel nervous while starting to perform, and locals are trying to push buttons if they are going to last for a long time. It can be nerve-racking for everyone, especially for those who are performing in a minority language apart from worldwide known languages like English and Spanish. Enrique said how he didn’t know in the beginning they were doing something significant, as he and Damian at the time wrote Chiapas Maruch. They were proud of their work but at the same time, they were nervous about the criticism. In 1996, when the group was heading to San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, they went to a center in 1994 during the Zapatista Uprising, where many people from all over the world came from the side of the movement and Mexico. They were surprised by what Sak Tzuvel was contributing, and they liked it and encouraged them to continue in doing so.

Enrique even stated. "Although there are many people that like them, and many people didn't in their community, they said that is part of it. Their message is like the public doesn't understand the language, but without saying it, they know the message that you want to take advantage of, as a group, and in life, and help the world."

“The message of resistance sometimes you don't need so much complication, you can see the resistance of artists. Music and art sometimes do not need a lot of explanation, simply, you are going to know the mechanisms of resistance, and what you are resisting because you have to know why. However, resistance movements do not need such a complicated language to understand each other, and to share each other.” ~ Damian Martinez

“We would understand a little that we should be on the right path and return to our roots.” ~ Enrique Martinez

Getting the chance to see a performance by an indigenous music group, I got the nerve to talk about them due to as people talk about Latin America and places like Mexico, they only think about the influence and culture that the Spanish brought, but never the indigenous people of the land that are originally from. Also, as I listened to them, I’ve learned a lot from them, as the phrase “You learn something new every day” comes into play. From a new language I learned that exists, how many native languages are still used today, learn more of a culture we’re not very familiar with, the influence of a state in Mexico known as ‘Chiapas’, the differences between their culture and others in Mexico, what an apparent Chiapas is very similar to neighboring Guatemala, how they are approximately sixty-nine official languages in Mexico, colors and floral symbolism of a fascinating culture and most importantly, the impact that not only they but everyone else in the world has and brings to think about humanity.

“You must heal, heal yourself. Conserve your roots, connect your roots, you are the connection of the two roots.” ~Damian Martinez

Growing up listening to rock, blues, and jazz and with many influences they listened on their radio and cassettes such as Michael Jackson, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Doors, Pink Floyd, and King Crimson, with Spanish artists as well like Soda Stereo, Rata Blanca and Rockridge Gonzalez to name a few, Sak Tzuvel adjective is to use their music to heal not just their community, but the rest of the world as well.

In the interview where I asked about the joyfulness of what music and performing for their community is, one of the Damian stated: “Yes because you must be happy to make good art for yourself first. If you are not happy with yourself, you will not be able to stand on a stage and convince everyone. You must heal, heal yourself. Conserve your roots, connect your roots, you are the connection of the two roots of your father and your mother. You are the connection of two things, two energies. And those energies can make two great universes. You are the first one to everyone. Connect yourself with that.”

I don't just want to focus on my culture, I prefer to think more about the people of the world.~Damian Martinez

I asked them how we could help influence the Tzotzilian culture more. And what Damian said truly opened my mind, and how an unselfish individual he is, stating;

“ I don't just want to focus on my culture, I prefer to think more about the people of the world. If you have a question, how can you contribute? At the university, you can contribute to improving the world, and the planet in general because it is not just one culture that you need, we are all of us that we need. I would say improve the world by improving policies, exploitation of resources, improving everyone in their areas, and making life more humane.”

I replied; I understand you, I was just asking because before the interview, [Francisco and I] when you think of Mexico, other countries always think that there are only Hispanics there and that they only speak Spanish. But they never speak or say anything about the worthy ones like you who are originally from the earth.

Damian replied;

“Yes, however, I would think that each of those who are studying at their universities should think about improving the world humanly. That we could all think that we all have the right to have an education and live well for everyone. Our planet is like our house, if some live well and others are dying, something is wrong, something must be done and not positively for one or the other. Because sometimes the spotlight you go to a single ethnic group, and as in the case of Palestine there is the case when one of them left the spotlight of a single town, now that town has so much power that that town is already devastating to another town. Repeating that this place to another, you understand. We must think lovingly globally. You know that somewhere else on the planet there are dying, you have no food and water. We must think, what do we have to do?

I highlighted this, and my favorite part of the interview is how wise that answer was. I’m a cultural man, wondering about many regions from around the world one by one. Damian gives a perfect answer like that, especially to my second part of the question, he is right. In this world that we live in, everybody is diverse. People are separating, but when it comes to their own race and ethnic group, they either stay for support of their own, and for society, it can be a problem as each group suffers from their problems rather than others, it is better if everyone can work together as a whole so we won’t feel as a division in society. Everyone needs to work together to make a difference. Why Michael Jackson says, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.” Or when Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV in the end quote, “If I can change, and you can change, everybody can change.” It’s because we need to work on ourselves and with each other to stand and lead each other to make Earth a great place to live that can easily help find solutions to many situations. We need to base each other on unity, not through just on nationality, race, gender, and ethnic groups, we are all one, no matter if we appear different, we all bleed the same. Before judging someone, everyone is fighting a battle that you may not know anything about.

It is a phenomenon, it struck me how the resistance mechanism of peoples can cross borders.”~Damian Martinez

Speaking of ethnic groups, and how Sak Tzuval comes from a Tzotzil background. They traveled to many places like other parts of Mexico, United States, Russia, and Japan, but the one place that holds a special place in their hearts outside of Zinacatan is Tampa Florida. A city that surprisingly is full of Tzotzilian.

Damian stated, “What impacted me was when we arrived in Tampa, I couldn't believe how many Tzotziles there were, and they were speaking Tzotzil, they are preserving many things as a community. It is a phenomenon, it struck me how the resistance mechanism of peoples can cross borders.”

“We fought something like a battle but really because we think that what we propose is good and to date accessible now in our towns.” ~ Damian Martinez

As I started to wrap up my interview, I asked the group; How do they see the group apart from other bands that exist now and can you be influenced by or generally?

Damian stated; “ What we can tell you is that we did it when no one had the courage to do it on what is happening in our community for our young people. We fought something like a battle but really because we think that what we propose is good and to date accessible now in our towns. We are the influences of many kids, but there are some who don't really want to know us either (laughs). So I'm not going to fight with them and I don't want to make anyone a student, I just want us to give this idea and that we wanted more people to do them, not to make them the only ones.

Enrique added on; “Yes, you have served as an inspiration for many new bands not only in Chiapas, but all of Mexico, there are more young people singing in their own language, there are many rappers, and many genres, who sing rap, hip hop, reggae, metal. It has touched me sometimes, as you say, I thought the same as the other artists when I was little, I wanted to become a musician and make my own band and I was very young and I got excited when I saw the artists sing in my language, and it feels nice. I'm kind of happy that many young people are singing in their language. In the genre that already exists. And artists too, not only the movement that music enters but many artists, poets, painters value their paintings and already represent them in art. That is very good for community cultures.

“We have built a very strong cultural activism that we also did not know that we are greatly influencing sectors in our country.” ~ Damian Martinez

For my last question I asked each one of them. How do they see each other in the next decade in their careers and in life.

Francisco started of; “ Well, since the group has been together for many years. I intend that the group can project itself to another because it has been difficult, in Mexico it is like a cultural space now, to share with other groups, in communities or elsewhere. As Damian said, they can understand a decent life. I am also a carpenter with a house, it is very limited for one to do one, I just want the group to have a platform.”

Enrique went next; “I hope that in the next ten years, I am still playing music, to be able to follow the music, and also create an extra voice.

Damian finally stating on his part; “For my part I envisioned it from a young age, I wanted Sak Tzevul to produce its own music, its own studios, its own facilities, its own cultural centers. Do something general more things, not just make music, we don't really earn much money from music. The only thing I can tell you is that we have built a very strong cultural activism that we also did not know that we are greatly influencing sectors in our country. Now with these series of conferences and things that happened here and at the University of Hamilton,Paco who had that vision of studying the past in history, I can still see in the future realizing those projects, which is the recording studio. Technical things are missing, but it is working. We go out, continue playing, traveling, doing what we are, and continue learning because every time we come from academic places the students also ask things that we have never asked ourselves and you know that you yourself have the answers. You yourself learn to see inside yourself but you don't know that you know them until someone asks you. And that is why I am very grateful to share with the students because they are in their time where they are with great sensitivity and they ask very spontaneous questions and are also very wise. You have wisdom within you and that is because you are in a university, that is why it is called university, learning to relate yourself to the universe. I am not a student but when I come to a university of course I am going to learn something more. I hope to continue doing what we are talking about what we are doing now for the next ten years.”