If you google Nepantla, you’ll discover that it is a concept used in Chicano and Latinx anthropology as well as social commentary, criticism, literature … and even ART!

Nepantla is in-betweenness; the experience of liminality; Nepantla is neither here nor there. It is a Nahuatl word used by the Aztecs to describe leaving behind aspects of their culture that they could not synthesize into the new culture when they were colonized. It means to exist in between worlds. Those who traverse in between various worlds are known as Nepantleros/ Nepantleras/ Nepantlerx, a term coined by Gloria Anzaldúa, a Chicanx queer scholar, also born on the border lands; between states; and between identities.

It is a human experience and is for anyone who may find themselves in an unknown in-between space both internally and or externally.

Nepantla is a state of suspended fluidity. There is no up or down, North, South, East, or West. you do not need a compass when in Nepantla.

Nepantla as an interactive physical space(less)-time(less) experience; is an invitation to exist and maneuver through something liminal and uncharted. When somebody walks into Nepantla their perception will instantly become challenged as their eyes are set on fire and by the vibrancy of the space. They may gaze forward onto one wall facing them, just to discover two converging … or are they actually just ONE vertical plane? Are the planes slowly moving like molted lava or is it a figment of their imagination?

They may find themselves in between, neither here nor there, uncharted, in a state of suspended fluidity.

Welcome to Nepantla.