In Colombia's Sierra Nevada, the Kankuamo people carry their weaving, music and ancestral knowledge from one generation to the next.
Atánquez is the capital of the Kankuamo Indigenous Reserve, home to 15 communities in Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The town has lived through hard years, the violence most of all. It kept going with the strength and resilience its people are known for.
What they inherited lives in their music, their craft and their ancestral knowledge. Today they are keeping that identity strong, and building a better future for the generations coming next.
That's how Enosh describes home. Mountain, river, craft and community, all connected. Understanding the culture begins with the place that carries it.
Enosh Arias · El AtanqueroEnosh Arias, known as El Atanquero, is one of the leading Indigenous creators online, and proof of what social media can do for a community. Every day he shares Atánquez with the world: its music, its craft, its elders, its streets.
In the School of Elevation he's a student and a mentor. He teaches the other reps what he's learned about sharing their culture and growing an audience. What one of us learns, we all share. Together we're working on locally led initiatives that bring sustainable income and social impact to Atánquez.
In Atánquez a thread is never just thread, and a song is never just a song. The Kankuamo want the world to know their culture, and to earn from it, without giving away what it means.
So Enosh's films travel further, the weaving reaches people who value every stitch, and small groups come to the Sierra only with permission. The community decides what is shared, what stays private and who benefits.
Atánquez leads. We amplify.
Get involved
Every way in builds Atánquez’s own income.
Weave the Kankuamo way, from your kitchen table. Prepared fique, a needle and a step-by-step guide sent to your door, with video lessons online and a card on what weaving means to the Kankuamo. Wonky first stitches are part of the fun.
8 days in Kankuamo territory with Enosh, for families.
El Atanquero shares Atánquez every day: the music, the elders, the streets. Every follow carries it further.
Watch the journey
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