Vayijel is a rock band from the town of San Juan Chamula, a town located in the Altos de Chiapas. What is its greatest feature? His music is written entirely in Tsotsil, his mother tongue.
The band was born 6 years ago, and just in 2011 they released their first production called simply ‘Vayijel’, becoming an example of interculturality and an obligatory reference for rock in that region of the country.
The band, whose songs represent the legends and myths that emerge from the worldview of their peoples, will perform next March 21 at the Tajín Summit 2014, along with bands like Tomahawk, Puscifer, Primus and Tool.
What can you tell me about your origin and the band?
Well, Vayijel means "Guardian Animal Spirit". We started six years ago and at first it was a hobby that later became a necessity, as we realized that music allowed us to express our experiences, to share even the experiences of others. We discovered that music was a very important vehicle and that through it we could help our people, because we realized that young people our age were losing their identity and were ashamed to speak the Tsotsil. We have been changing that, we have been strengthening what we truly are through music.
Se dice que cantar en otro idioma que no sea el inglés, muchas veces dificulta la carrera musical de una banda, sobre todo en su género. Ahora, ustedes rompen el paradigma todavía más cantando en Tsotsil…
Tsotsil is our mother tongue, it is the language we speak. And music for us is a universal language. It does not matter if you do not understand the language of a song, when you feel an emotional connection with the music, with the melody, with its strength and its essence, the rest does not matter or comes to the background, since later you can search for the meaning of the lyrics and confirm that connection. In our case we listen to a lot of music in foreign languages that has inspired us. That is what we seek, to inspire with our music, that is why we do not believe that language is a limitation.
And the band is already more than 5 years old! How difficult has the road been?
Well, to begin with when we started we didn't know how to play any instrument, well, in my case I knew a little guitar but when I entered Vayijel I entered as a drummer! And well, I didn't know how to play anything, so we played very badly! We never got any covers, so we started to compose our own songs, we made kilometric or very monotonous songs. Songs that over time found their shape little by little. So that was our first difficulty, we had no musical education, but we had an ear, and so we followed him! And although people caught their attention, our family and friends liked it, especially since we sang in Tsotsil; we always found someone who criticized us and the more they criticized us the more we wanted to learn, understand what we were doing wrong and do better and better! We are empirical musicians and we are always looking for someone to learn more from. We are going the long way, but we know we are on the right track.
Well, now they will perform at an event like the Cumbre Tajín, along with bands like Tomahawk, Primus and, of course, Tool.
Yes, that is a great opportunity, it is one of the greatest achievements that we have had since we have been working with Vayijel. We have tried hard to do things right. Nothing we have achieved has been given away, we have battled everything. So this news is incredible! Although it was about time, because we love music and like these bands with whom we will share the stage at the Tajín Summit, we want to live from what we like to do. We are very excited because they are musicians that we admire, because we feel that we are a band that is leaving a corner of the country, a band that apparently has everything against us and suddenly we are no longer dreaming, now we are living it, we are part of something very big and it's totally real.
Do we first have to assess what we have inside before looking out?
Of course, first we must accept what we are, when we do that we will discover a great tool to stand out and be different out there. Mexico has a deep history, we are part of peoples with a worldview and a living culture. It must be valued, recognized and shared.
What is your goal with Vayijel?
There are many goals, we are always reaching a different goal each time. We come from a town where from a young age we are taught to work, to have responsibilities and to serve our community. We know that we have a mission, a very big task. We want to contribute, through music, to change the history of our peoples.
