Zenaida

KMe'phaa (Tlapanec) Malinaltepec, Guerrero, Mexico

Me'phaa, also known as Tlapanec or Tlapaneco, is an Oto-Manguean language of Guerrero, Mexico spoken by an Indigenous population around the towns of Malinaltepec, Acatepec and Azoyú and surrounds. Less is known about the ancient history of the Tlapanecs compared with the neighboring Mixtecs and Zapotecs, more of whose records have survived a long process of colonial erasure. Intriguingly, the closest linguistic relative of Me'phaa is a language called Subtiaba, which was spoken in what is today Nicaragua, very far south of the present day Me’phaa speaking area.

Like other Oto-Manguean languages, Me'phaa has a complex system of tones and a large number of unique verb conjugations. While Me'phaa is not among Mexico's most endangered languages, only one of every three Tlapanecs is learning the language as Spanish becomes more dominant.

Zenaida Cantú is a poet and language activist originally from Mañuwìin (Malinaltepec, Guerrero). She is the first to bring the Me'phaa language out of the shadows of New York and into the public consciousness through her readings.