Ecuador

Kichwa

Indigenous

I wonder if in the future the Kichwa Otavalo community will still be known for being “Mindalaes” traveling merchants, will we travel across galaxies or planets?

ñawpa

A woman walking across a starlit path towards a city on the horizon

A mandala that is half half Asian American, half Andean

Letter to Art #3 - Young People, Unmoored Asian Americans, and Doing Good

“Envision a future in which your culture, history, and values have guided the world to an alternative reality — and harnessing that energy, create a piece to resonate with our times.”

Reality is born of our thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. To create an alternative world, we must first then take an imaginative leap — place ourselves first into a future of possibilities, and only then work backwards and guide ourselves to that point from our present moment.

That was the reasoning behind this prompt for Alternative Worlds, to feel an alternative reality in our present mind, to first dream and then to manifest.

Each person has their own knowledge, stories, and vision — and it’s in bringing those voices together and harnessing our collective wisdom that we can also begin to glimpse an alternative reality greater than the sum of its parts — a collective dream that we all share.

In keeping with these ideas, here we have space for contributors to express what this project means to us, what we hope folks take away from it, and what we’re grateful for:

For me, this project was born out of a desire to create a resource for the Andean community. When I started the journey to learn about my Andean heritage, I had a ridiculously hard time knowing where to start or how to find resources and representation. So part of my motivation is to make it easier for anyone else in the future to start this process of self discovery, and to know they’re not alone.

This project is also a way to honor the idea of ayni or reciprocity in Andean culture. I’ve recently been dialed into this idea of Global Reciprocity, a proposal to create new paradigms in our cultures, practices, and institutions centering reciprocal relationships at the core, all of which I learned about alongside Shirley via a class with the Ayni Institute, a social change organization with Peruvian leadership based out of Boston.

With that in mind, creating both the Andean and Asian American collections in solidarity with one another, both as a way to celebrate our diversity as well as build new relationships and recognize our shared humanity, is a contribution to this idea of moving towards Global Reciprocity. How do we get there? By going together. And concretely, I had so much fun collaborating with Sandy and Shirley to make a zine, and with Charles on creating our essay correspondence!

In all, I hope by bringing together all of the fantastic work folks are already doing in their respective circles, we can make it easy for folks to both connect and start a process of self discovery to give us a better understanding of who we are, cultural heritage included, allowing us to nourish our own lives as well as know all that we have to offer as we share our whole selves with one another and the world.

I must say that I am grateful for this project put forth by Alternative Worlds because it allows the English-speaking world to experience Andean culture (the collection I’ve participated in). As a musician and artist I believe the Arts are the most accessible entry point into culture and cultural preservation. 

In my case from this project I hope more people who have seen themselves as “just” mestizos will find the courage to learn about their indigeneity, that musicians or musically inclined people of any background will perform my short piece in their recitals knowing its context and will give credit to me and Andean roots for its creation and hopefully a wider audience see that we live and colonization did not eliminate my indigenous Native American (South American people) Tawantinsuyu (Four Suyus or the Andean world). 

I feel blessed to be included in a collection of such gifted creators and artists and open for collaboration with I also hope will be possible in the future. Thank you, Gracias, Payllaa (Ancash/Central Quechua), Añay/Sulpayki (Southern Quechua), Pay Suma (Aymara)

Participating in this project, just going through the exercise of imagining a future based on different values, helped to shift my frame of thinking about what changes are possible. What I wish for people to take away from this project is encouragement to at least momentarily set aside what we think of as common sense and logic. If it can be imagined, it can be done. Believing isn’t a sufficient step but it is a necessary one. And I think art, fiction, these are all ways of giving structure the more fundamental exercise of stretching our imaginations. 

I’m really grateful to have my music and art included in this collection, and love that we got to stop and consider Andean conceptions of the future and its cyclical nature. Jallalla to the organisers who worked so hard to make it possible!

In considering the future, especially after the recent IPCC report, it is difficult to imagine one without burning horizons and absolute destruction and loss, an apocalyptic future that mainstream media and peak oil preppers alike anticipate in dreams and nightmares. But certainly it is important to look into the past, to look at how we once broke free from previously established orders, recovered and adapted some of their tools and created new ones, and somehow reforged ourselves into new versions. Knowledge of our biome within us, of all the microorganisms that we cohabit with and that transcend western concepts of finite life, means our Andean three spirits — our Jach’a, Jisk’a and Sullka Ajayus — can flourish. We are not limited in time because we are linked to everything that happened before and can happen in future, but we are here now and although this Pachakuti is a great clash, a time of great destruction, it is also the beginning of a new cycle. 

As this collection launches I will be in Glasgow, a city I was exiled to as a baby, like a mitma community sent by our invaders to a new inhospitable environment, but I was able to become a part of that place and discover and be there to help and work with the Minga Indigena, the gathering of indigenous delegates who are already arriving to Glasgow for COP26 as I write, each one from a different tribe across Abya Yala, to help  raise awareness and share the knowledge, art and stories so that we can mold the future. 

Minga is an ancient word, and like Ayni it is about shared work, this time between tribes, across cultures, where Ayni is that exchange with the elements, life and those directly around us, a Minga is that shared work we all have to do in a wider sense. In the same way the Chakana is not just a cross, but a sign in the stars that indicates the seasons, the work to do across those seasons, across our cultures, beyond our differences, for the good of mother nature, and for the society that we can build by coordinating together and figuring it all out again. 

I’m grateful for memory and tradition that has granted me inspiration to write. Often we recognize that our bodies, hearts, and mind hang onto the trauma and pain. But, our bodies, hearts, and minds also hang onto our ancestral memories. I remember once in college a professor told a classmate that nationalism was a lie, and my classmate panicked fearing that their entire identity was built on a lie. While nationalism may be a colonial lie, I knew that the connection to the land and the ancestral traditions practiced on our land were and will always be real. The fire in my heart as it comes alive when I hear our traditional music is memory. The affinity to experience others never had had to face is memory. The joy of dancing and wearing our traditional clothes is memory. No one can take any of it away. I honor my ancestors' knowledge and their collective memory living in me through my writing for the project. I am grateful for the opportunity and grateful for the ability to remember. 

I'm grateful for the chance to share my little story with the world, alongside so many brilliant artists who share my hyphenated identity. My webzine started out as a personal endeavor to make some sense of my hard drive full of travel photos and videos, and to put my fleeting memories into words before I forgot — I hadn't imagined that more than a handful of people might look at it. And now, seeing my story in this collection has given me greater perspective and reminded me of the power that my stories may hold, especially in chorus with other voices in the community. I hope this project can inspire someone to start creating and sharing, as even tiny and mundane stories are worth telling.

I’m grateful for this space and the opportunity to share my story and process. I find it very easy to talk with other members in this group and receive meaningful feedback, as well as learn how my experience resonates with their own. My work deals with my own narrative as I exist in the world, so I never thought about the “what if”s of an alternative reality that this project celebrates (I am now, though! :)). My project started from my art thesis in college and is gradually growing outwards as I view the other projects included here. I think it’s wonderful to see so many people like myself that are navigating through their identities in their own way and to see what media they transform that journey into.

This project means a few different things to me. It feels like a validation of the power of relationships and friendships even over long distances, and (especially so) through global pandemic Apocalypse. It also feels like one step towards a future that centers collaboration, creativity, community, joy, and reciprocity! 

I hope they take away a sense of awe at how dope our community is!! And a sense of love and inspiration from all of the different mediums of art and truth that was shared. And maybe some motivation to keep engaging and being involved with AltSalt as we continue to grow and evolve. 

I'm grateful for the core team, Art and Sandy! You both are such amazing people that I’m honored to know and work with. And for our entire community who submitted artwork and contributed their time and energy to this collection. And grateful for the Ayni institute for bringing  us together and rekindling the fire of our ancestors and for sharing the wisdom and teachings of the long view.

I’m so grateful for the connections this project has helped me cultivate, nurture, and grow. Because of Alternative Worlds, I’ve been able to learn about and connect with amazing artists; not to mention see, read, and experience incredible creative works! My horizons have been expanded in the best ways possible. Especially in this day and age where we are so inundated with the internet and technology (to the point where it can be hard to put your phone down and just be present), I find that having a resource like this one is more important than ever. I try to avoid mindless scrolling through social media, but sometimes social media is the only way to find and stumble upon awesome creators that inspire me. Projects like these, however, provide another way to connect with and learn from creators that is more intentional and community-centered, which I think we can all benefit from.

It’s been a beautiful journey getting to see this project come to fruition, and for sure one of the best parts was getting to work with Art and Shirley to develop a collaborative zine! I love the energy we have as a group and I have learned so much from both of you, as well as the greater AltSalt community as a whole. I can’t wait to continue the journey and see where our projects, collaborations, and community leads us next :)

This project was devised by Sandy Enriquez, Shirley Man-Kin Leung, and Artemio Morales in May 2021 as a means of making resources for our communities.

We first reached out to existing AltSalt members to create a promotional collage for our Call for Submissions.

After that, we published the open call on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter on June 15th, with a deadline of August 15th.

From July 17-18th, we held a workshop weekend of programming, including online workshops and discussion groups.

As we received final submissions around August 15th, Artemio began to design and program support for the different content types that would need to exist on the site to support the submissions.

Principal programming was completed in mid September, after which Artemio, Shirley, and Sandy began devising how to frame and present the collections.

In early October, contributors were invited to craft statements to accompany the collections and offer feedback on copy throughout the project. Preparations began for a launch event.

The collections were officially launched in November 2021.

A joint statement from contributors to the Andean and Asian American collections, speaking on what Alternative Worlds means to us.

Envisioning the Future

On "Different Folks" and Andean musical fusion

Heritage, music, and creative freedom

Letter to Art #4 - Ukraine, Trans Rights, and Doomscrolling (March 2022)

Choclo y Chicha: a zine for (and from) the Andean Diaspora

Alternative Worlds: The Andes and Asian America

Mundos Alternatives: Los Andes y América Asiatica

"To Dream and Be Intentional" — Interview with Shirley Man-Kin Leung

The Birth of Andean Futurism

Alternative Worlds Workshop Weekend Schedule

(Interview)

First Letter to Art - Human Nature, Technology, and Blown Up Babies

Letter to Art #2 - Egos, Deadlines, The Twisties, and Sandwiches

Everyone

United States

Taiwan

China

Bolivia

Peru

Android

Digital Comic

Zine

New Media Literature

Drama

Poetry

Experimental

Slice of Life

Perzine

Andinx

Ancashina

SGI Buddhist

Second Generation Immigrant

Quechua

Latinx

Andes

Asian American

First Generation

English

Spanish

A few minutes

Apple App Store

Google Play

Red, green, and yellow art with choclo and geometric iconography.

Portrait of a young child against a pink background; plants emerge from the child's face.

Group of friends peering through a wire fence

Collage of antique and modern pictures of women.

**SHORTLISTED for the New Media Writing Prize 2017** **SHORTLISTED for the Opening Up Digital Fiction People's Choice Award 2017** **FEATURED in the upcoming Electronic Literature Collection Volume 4 by ELO** **FEATURED in the Babycastles Art Gallery Wordhack Anthology**◇ ◇ ◇"Above the mirror, small and low, hung a fluorescent bulb whose light shone through my skin..."People we love often fade away. As time goes on, how do we remember our relationships, and what insights does that distance afford us?Featuring an original soundtrack, 22 photo illustrations, and a few innovative surprises, A MODERN GHOST explores a young man's memories of a love that was never realized.A prototype story, it is the first release by Artmayu Studios.

A Modern Ghost

Huancavilca

Aymara

In May 2020, Rimay Raiz launched Choclo y Chicha, a zine that shares the contributions of the Andean/Andinx diaspora through poetry, art, and storytelling. Both choclo and chicha are Quechua words for our ancestral foods of fresh corn and maize drinks, we chose them to reflect our cultural connections and create a space for a uniquely Andean zine. Chicha is also a type of music, Peruvian cumbia, that musicologists and sociologists claim emerged in the Amazon of Peru out of a sentiment of exclusion and otherness by dominant white, criollo elites. We chose to include zines as part of our core mission because they would allow us to showcase creative media works from our communities on our own terms, without the need to compromise our vision through mainstream publishing. We also want to acknowledge the diverse ways that our communities express their thoughts, feelings, and experiences, some orally, while others visually or through text. We hope to distribute the zines widely and inspire others in our community to value and share their own stories and experiences through this, and other, mediums.Our first zine features profound stories such as “Camino hacia la Boca del Lobo-Simiatug” by Jimena Vega, powerful poems such as “Mama Negra, Mama Tierra” by Mónica Carrillo Zegarra, and art by colectivo member Layqa Nuna Yawar, Lenny Correa.

Choclo y Chicha Vol. 1

Reflections at Sunset

See Sandy

The Life is a Freestyle Quaranzine

Quechualish: An Indigenous Language Zine

Mosqhoq (Dreamer/Soñadora)

Cultural Correspondence

Riveted in the Word

Test Publication

Choclo y Chicha Vol. 2

Free

Paid

Resonate

Book

SoftwareApplication

Website

itch.io

Twitter

Quwicha Zines

Nickm.com

Bad Quarto

I'm a software developer, director of Artmayu Studios, and founder of AltSalt.I love the digital and literary worlds, especially exploring new kinds of digital literature, from experimental multimedia books to narrative adventure games.Currently, I'm in the process of learning more about my Andean background, and thinking through how to bridge that heritage with the world of technology.

The Andean diaspora* community in the United States is confronted with discrimination and a sense of dual exclusion from both Latinx and white US heritages due to histories of colonialism and imperialism that continue to impose Western epistemologies across time and borders. Rima(y) Raíz, an Andean diaspora collective based in NYC, NJ, IL and CA, confronts these issues by documenting and sharing inter-generational oral hxstories of the Andean diaspora in efforts to reclaim a sense of identity, alter dominant narratives about their communities, preserve experiences and knowledge of their elders for the next generation, and create a sense of solidarity. &nbsp;We are inspired by Andean notions of time, space, and community such as pachakutik and the ayllu and we choose oral hxstory as a medium due to its inter-disciplinary, borderless nature. Oral hxstory also acts as a way to decolonize the production of knowledge. The main components of the project are (1) interview three generations across the US-Andean diaspora, including community leaders (2) archive the oral histories in a public website, (3) share and discuss the stories via a podcast, zine, public space installations, and virtual Raymi or parties, and (4) organize gatherings of Andean organizations and leaders to celebrate and unite cultural advocacy efforts.Coloniality may have traversed time and space, but so has our resistance.*The Andean diasporic community includes people with South American heritage from Andean countries such as Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru. Hence, Rimay Raiz utilizes the term Andean to refer to this region of South America, as opposed to folks that are strictly from the highlands. We remain inclusive of the many nationalities in the Andean region, and recognize that people that may identify with diverse backgrounds, such as that of the coast and the Amazon, Black, Indigenous, mestizo, and we welcome all people who identify with our mission and background, whether they are recent immigrants, second generation, or have not connected to their ancestral countries for generations.

I am gardener and composter passionate about equity in the food system. Quinoa scholar and oral history and community archive enthusiast. Runasimita yachapakuq. Member of the Rimay Raiz colectivo.&nbsp;

Ecuadorian-American sociologist, of Huancavilca and Kichwa descent. Bi-coastal, born in Queens, NY and raised in both NY and CA. Musician, community activist, project coordinator at an immigrant and workers rights org, and co-founder of Rimay Raiz.&nbsp;

I am a triple fire sign, Catholic and a feminista. My family is Peruana, my parents immigrated to the U.S. and I was raised in Central Florida. I write poetry on Mami_soy_emo on Instagram about growing up in the between of Peruvian and American culture, therapy , sisterhood, empath struggles, and my ongoing haphazarduous love life. I am inspired by my Mamá, sunsets, pollo a la brasa con papas, and humanity's ability to heal. I am also an immigration attorney who works with survivors of gender-based violence, a plant mom to 17 plants, and a mediocre ukelele player. I am currently working on a zine about my therapy journey.&nbsp;

I am an Indigenous Adoptee from Peru. I've grown up in Brooklyn, NY and I've gone back to Peru several times to reconnect with my biological family.&nbsp;

Bridging the worlds of the West and Andes through storytelling...Artmayu is a digital book production studio, and the studio behind AltSalt!Our name comes from Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon, and Mayu, the celestial river from Andean cosmology.In addition to maintaining the AltSalt website, we make animated ebooks, games, and other creative digital projects.

I'm a poet and professor, and also work as a curator, editor, and publisher, for instance: Curator of the Generative Unfoldings exhibit, editor of the book series Using Electricity by the nonprofit press Counterpath, and proprietor of Bad Quarto, a micropress. My work in all of these roles aims to include diverse voices and perspectives by those who are using computational and verbal arts in new ways.

Editorial content by the AltSalt team.

Shirley identifies as a queer, asian-american woman of color. She works as a community organizer in Northern Colorado and as a yoga teacher. When not being self-referential in a bio, you can find her painting watercolors, biking around town, dancing, or reading a book.

Hi, I'm Charles H. Huang, game designer, narrative designer, game programmer.Also I have a lot of values and ideas and things I wanna do and dumb ideas, and it's hard when they conflict, but I remind myself I'm a person from circumstances, so I try not to be too hard on myself.I'm Founder of Unparty; Co-Founder of Friendship Garden - a nonprofit for underrepresented game developers.&nbsp;I'm a current MFA Candidate at NYU Game Center and an Adjunct Professor at Hostos Community College.

Imanalla! I'm Sandy, a zinester librarian in sunny southern California. I started making zines as a way to practice and maintain Quechua, my ancestral language and one of the most widely spoken Indigenous languages of the Americas. I now feel like I have too many zine ideas and too little time, but I try to make it work!&nbsp;I participate in several Andinx community projects like the annual May Sumak Quichwa Film Showcase and oral history collective Rimay Raíz. I love creating spaces for our community to share our cultures, languages, and experiences in the diaspora.&nbsp;In my spare time, I enjoy reading/watching things in the realms of sci-fi, fantasy, or horror. I also like to weave and garden (especially with, you guessed it, Andean potatoes!).&nbsp;

Writing, scriptwriting, andean ethnofuturism, nueva trova, improvised music, folk music, non white centric SciFi, decolonization and decolonising art

I'm a writer and cartographer. I mostly write scif/fantasy and have worked on some table top rpg projects such as the in*die zine and unbreakable rpg. I manage the integral states project, where I draw US states and territories as fantasy maps and pair them with pre-colonial histories.&nbsp;

Envisioning an alternative world

Choclo y Chicha Vol. 1

Availability

Format

Distribution

Price

Length

Creator Background

Publication Date

Creators

Comments & Resonance