“Earth.” In Náhuatl, is Tlalli. And in Toronto, on November 1st, 2025, that word isn’t spoken — it’s felt in the ground and in the drums. Tlalli Festival celebrates at TD Music Hall its most symbolic edition yet: Xibalbá — A Celebration of the Dead, a journey into the Mayan underworld, but also into the heart of who we are when we remember everything — and everyone — that came before us.
In its fourth edition, the festival —founded by Maya-Zapotec singer-songwriter and JUNO Award winner Quique Escamilla— moves indoors. Yet it keeps its essence intact: “A tribute to the ancestors and a commemoration of global figures who have dedicated their lives to justice, freedom, and equality”. Through the chords and rhythms of international artists, Tlalli becomes a bridge between Toronto’s urban pulse and the echoes of the Andes, the Caribbean, and the Indigenous cultures of Mexico, Colombia, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and beyond — thanks to artists such as:
- Digging Roots (Anishinaabe, Onkwehón:we)
- Carmen Lienqueo (Chile)
- Yasser Tejeda (Dominican Republic)
- Mackenzie Jacobs (Six Nations)
- Carlos Rivera Dance Group (Mexico)
- Raíz Viva (Colombia)
- Rosalba Valdez (Chicago, USA)
- Quique Escamilla (Chiapas, Mexico)
- DJ Grouch (Panama-Colombia)
- Mexican Legacy Dance (Veracruz, Mexico)
- DJ Mcgregor Nimkii Beniishi (Anishinaabeg of the Great Lakes)
- Josuhé Lozada (Chiapas, Mexico)
- Albert Plant (Anishnaabe, Salish, Kootenai)
In times when music is sold through algorithms and art is measured by metrics, this festival dares to propose a beautiful heresy: to remember that everything begins in the soil. Like the corn — yellow, purple, red — in tortillas that taste like home, presented in a culinary experience led by chefs Miguel Bravo (Acatlán, Puebla) and Ulises Pérez (Chiapas, Mexico), who offer handmade dishes prepared with organic ingredients and ancestral techniques.
Tlalli is not just a festival; it’s a reminder of where we come from, of who we still are, of the music that still knows how to speak the language of the earth. Because when the drums fall silent, something still vibrates beneath our feet: an ancient pulse that reminds us music was not born on the stage, but in the soil itself. And thanks to our ancestors, we are still here—listening.
You can purchase tickets for Tlalli Festival: Xibalbá — A Celebration of the Dead on the official TD Music Hall website.
