just ja’ / buuts’ / t’aan at PICA

Enjoy an introduction and guided viewing of ja’ / buuts’ / t’aan (Water / Smoke / Word) by Patricia Vazquez Gomez , an immersive installation that explores the relationship between a group of Mayan youth living in Portland with with their mother tongue: maayat’aan (Maya Peninsular/Yucatec Mayan), an Indigenous language of present-day Yucatán, Mexico. Mostly shot in the Yucatán municipalities of Maní and Dzan with audio recorded in Portland, ja’ / buuts’ / t’aan investigates personal struggles to learn and preserve Indigenous languages that mirror enduring societal failures to support their survival.