Indigenous Youth Subcultures & New Media in Latin America investigated how young Kichwa and Mapuche people in, respectively, Ecuador and Argentina and Chile (Waj Mapu) use art, social media, and digital technologies for self-expression, resistance, and global engagement.

An 18-month research project (2023–25) based at the University of Manchester and funded by the AHRC. The project supported public cultural events in Latin America and the UK, featuring performances by Mapuche and Kichwa artists: Pawkar Peguche (Otavalo, Ecuador), Nuevos imaginarios del sur (Bariloche, Argentina), Resonant Territories: Sounds from Shared Latin America (Manchester, UK).

Combining online and in-person ethnography with analysis of cultural production and direct collaboration with Indigenous creators, the project explored how platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, and YouTube shape contemporary Indigenous youth culture — building on earlier generations’ use of community radio, video and fanzines.

Collaborating Artists

Maxi Flores

is a singer-songwriter and musician from Puel Mapu (Argentina). His song 'A Rafael Nahuel' is dedicated to the memory of a 22-year-old Mapuche young man who was murdered by the Argentine military police.

Runa Rap

is a hip hop group from Otavalo that raps both in Spanish and Kichwa, bringing together modern global sounds and the ancestral culture of the Andes.

WeWay is a musical project formed by three Mapuche women from Neuquén, Argentina (Puel Mapu) that seek to transmit the voices and energies (newen) of their ancestors and to resonate with future generations.

Pukka Malen is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Bariloche (Furilofche), Argentina (Puel Mapu).

Research Team

The project team was directed by Ignacio Aguiló and included academics based in the UK, Argentina and Ecuador.

Cultures of Anti-Racism investigated how young Kichwa and Mapuche people in, respectively, Ecuador and Argentina and Chile (Waj Mapu) use art, social media, and digital technologies for self-expression, resistance, and global engagement.