In the heart of Mexico, the Wirikuta region is not only a territory, but a symbol of spiritual and cultural connections that the Wixárika people (commonly known as Huichol) maintain with the land, a subject that is little talked about, but that it is necessary to know.

The 18th through the 20th centuries easily mark one of the most significant periods in human and environmental history, as Western European imperial expansion and settler colonialism incentivized the study and the incorporation of the botanical wonders found in what often came to be labeled as ‘the tropics.’

Cada año, miembros del pueblo Wixárika hacen el peregrinaje de 800km desde San Andrés Cohamiata en la Sierra de Jalisco hasta el desierto semi-árido de San Luis Potosí. Su destino es Wirikuta, un lugar sagrado donde, según sus creencias, el mundo fue creado de una gota de agua.

On the first day of autumn, evening temperatures near Window Rock, Arizona, were brisk. Beneath the late September sky, a traditional round hogan in this remote corner of the Navajo Nation was enveloped in darkness. Ten tribal members gathered inside.

From July 12th through July 14th, 2023, a third face-to-face meeting was held in the Las Margaritas ejido with the participation of various organizations and with the purpose of promoting the ecological, economic, and social well-being of the Altiplano Potosi, also known as Wirikuta to the Wixárika people. The Wixárika Research Center oversaw general coordination, that included invitations to Wixárika communities and inhabitants of the Altiplano region, as well as some delegates Sonora and Jalisco who were invited to participate to share their environmental work.  

“Desde que me acuerdo he vivido muchas ceremonias pero el recuerdo más viejo que tengo, era muy niña: iban llegando los peregrinos y mi papá masticó algo, lo escupió en el centro de mi cabeza, pensé que era hikuri pero era otra raíz sagrada porque traen muchas raíces, era para fortalecer mi energía; en ese momento me dieron un pedazo bendecido, me lo tenía que comer, recibir, que entrara al cuerpo.

On the morning of July 31, 2021, a group of 40 people assembled in the hamlet of Las Margaritas in the sacred land of Wirikuta, in the high plateaus of the Chihuahuan Desert of north-central Mexico. Local farmers in cowboy hats and baseball caps gathered alongside young indigenous Wixárika women and men who had come from their communities in the western states of Jalisco and Nayarit. There were also a dozen non-local and foreign attendees who happened to be in Margaritas or who had put down roots and established homes and working relations in the region.

When it rains in the high plateaus of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, the dampened earth releases a scent that showcases its unique biodiversity. During the rainy season, greasewood bushes, mesquites, yucca and a wide variety of cacti flower and give their fruits, while the locals plant their cornfields that grow according to the nourishment they receive from the seasonal rainfall.

El presente documento hace pública la opinión de los miembros de la Mesa Técnica Ambiental del Frente en Defensa de Wirikuta Tamatsima Wahaa y de un grupo de cientificos e investigadores asesores con gran trayectoria nacional e internacional, respecto a la posibilidad de que el lugar sagrado de Wirikuta sea declarada una Reserva Biósfera,publicado por el gobierno federal mexicano a través de la Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP),

Wirikuta is one of the most important natural sacred sites of the Wixárika (Huichol) indigenous people and the world. The Wixárika people live in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Durango and are recognized for having preserved their spiritual identity. They have continued to practice their cultural and religious traditions for thousands of years. Wirikuta is the birthplace of the sun and the territory where the different Wixárika communities make their pilgrimage, recreating the route taken by their spiritual ancestors to sustain the essence of life on this planet. In this desert springs the peyote or jicuri, the cactus that the Wixárika ritually ingest to receive the “gift of seeing”.