This Saturday, the call for entries for the 2026 CaSa Awards was presented. The awards, which are published in eight indigenous languages, were created by the visual artist Francisco Toledo (1940-2019) in 2010 with the intention of encouraging their use. However, this was not the beginning of the philanthropist’s crusade, according to Sara López Ellitsgaard, president of the Friends of IAGO and CFMAB Civil Association.
She explained that this crusade in favor of indigenous languages “began much earlier, in the 1970s, when Toledo collaborated to found Guchachi’ Reza, a magazine that published texts in Zapotec and Spanish. After that, he began creating educational materials and designed workshops with my sister Natalia Toledo to continue along the path—the path of the iguana, the path of the badger, the path of the languages.”
Sara López, daughter of Francisco Toledo, indicated that during her father’s work with his family and the workshops they conducted, they realized the lack of educational materials needed to promote the use of indigenous languages. Since then, at the painter’s initiative, the creation of these materials began, and they are distributed free of charge to any institutions that request them.
“We have to do more for indigenous languages, more to integrate them into the traditional education system, more to illustrate books in these languages, more to ensure that these languages are heard. Just because we don’t speak an indigenous language from Oaxaca or the rest of the country doesn’t mean we can’t work to help ensure the continuity of all the languages spoken in this country. My father loved his language, and I carry that love with me every day, with respect and care,” López Ellitsgaard emphasized.
Source: jornada
