Yakima Valley College’s 2022 Diversity Series will present a series of three virtual workshops featuring counselor and scholar James Vega over the coming month. The free events will be held on Wednesday, April 27, May 4 and May 11 at 10:30 a.m. PST. A Q&A will follow each lecture by Vega. Register for the events online.

The overall focus of Vega’s workshop series is defining one’s identity based on the Aztec calendar and how it pertains to identity and career potentials.

Workshop 1 (April 27): Using the Aztec Calendar/Mexika Sunstone

Participants will:

  • Learn how to use the comprehensive Indigenous Tonali Booklet by Maestro Jaime, Tlakatletzin
  • Learn how to find one’s cosmic identity, characteristics and career paths
  • Learn how to start living each day with increased purpose to reach one’s full potential
  • Learn about the 20 days known as the solar day
  • Start a journal to enter art, poetry, thoughts, feelings and questions
  • Discuss the activities to do for next workshop

Workshop 2 (May 4): How to Use the Ancient Indigenous Codices Charts

Participants will:

  • Learn how to use the Tonali Booklet: Birth Chart, Mexika Solar Year Charts, 20 days/Tonali, 20-day segments/Vientena, and 13 Day Birth Cycle/Ze Trezena
  • Learn how to understand the ancient sunstone to find out about one’s characteristics, gifts and career paths
  • Review previous session activities and journals
  • Discuss the activities to do in preparation for the next workshop

Workshop 3 (May 11): How to use the Ze Trezena/13 Day Birth Cycle information

Participants will:

  • Learn how to help others discover how they can reach their full potential
  • Learn how to determine a person’s birth information by using knowledge gained during these ancient Indigenous teachings
  • Share their experience with these three sessions
  • Share their Indigenous codice shield or collage or artistic creation
  • Review of previous sessions, activities, and journals.

James Vega/TLAKATLETZIN (fire keeper) is a child of immigrant parents from the Chichimeka and Otomi nations (Guanajuato/Mexico). He was born in Ventura, Calif., and grew up in East Los Angeles and Whittier. Inspired by his participation in the East L.A. Walkout, Vega went on to earn a vocational lifetime teaching credential from University of California, Los Angeles, a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in educational psychology and a counseling credential from California State University, Northridge. He worked for many years as a counselor specializing in bilingual group-counseling before retiring. He now is an adjunct faculty within the tutoring department at Ventura College.

Vega has spent more than four decades learning the Indigenous language of Nahuatl and learning how to live in accordance with the Aztec calendar and Indigenous sacred sun-stone of the mexika. His Indigenous research journey has included the ancient valley of Anahuatl Mexico-Tenochtitlan and surrounding sacred sites. He was taught how to read and interpret ancient codices of pre-Kuauhtemok times from Indigenous instructors as primary sources that included verbal/oral history, manuscript readings and philosophy.

Since 2005 Yakima Valley College has partnered with several local organizations to host events and lectures through its annual Diversity Series. The events provide YVC the opportunity to bring diverse perspectives to everyday topics and push the boundaries of the term beyond race, gender, social class and sexuality.

For more information contact Counselor Vicente Lopez at vlopez@yvcc.edu.