Raymundo Guzmán, also known as MixteKo, is an artist based in the San Joaquin Valley of California. He came to the 2016 Folklife Festival as a dancer in Grupo Nuu Yuku, performing the traditional Danza de los Diablos de San Miguel Cuevas in the Sounds of California program.

He also a rapper, blending Spanish, English, and Mixtec lyrics to shed light on issues central to his community. In this clip, Ray discusses his artistic process and the importance of history, culture, and language in his music.

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Raymundo Guzmán, alias MixteKo, es un artista establecido en el Valle de San Joaquín en California. Es danzante del Grupo Nuu Yuku, que realizó la tradicional Danza de los Diablos de San Miguel Cuevas en el programa Sonidos de California del Smithsonian Folklife Festival 2016.

También es rapero, mezclando letras en español, inglés, y mixteco para arrojar luz sobre los asuntos importantes de su comunidad. En este video, Ray describe su proceso artístico y la importancia de la historia, la cultura, y el lenguaje en su música.

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Music: “Donde Está la Gente de Oaxaca” by MixteKo, Banda Brillo de San Miguel Cuevas
Videography: Albert Tong, Pruitt Allen, Max Lenik, Chris Lee, Helen Lehrer, Lillian Schneyer
Photography: Walter Larrimore, Francisco Guerra, Prayoon Charoennun, Ronald Villasante
Text and translation: Robin Morey
Producers: Robin Morey, Alexis Ligon

Robin Morey is a 2016 Latino Museum Studies Fellow at the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. She is a master’s student in anthropology at Columbia University studying the evolution of the traditional Puerto Rican musical genre bomba.

The 2016 Sounds of California Smithsonian Folklife Festival program was co-produced with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Radio Bilingüe, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the Smithsonian Latino Center.