Guardian of Mexican Tradition, 

Marisela Ugalde Velázquez de León, affectionately known as Abuela Marsiella, is recognized as a guardian of Mexican ancestral tradition.

Her vocation has been to recover and transmit the wisdom of plant medicines, warrior women (Cihuateteo), and the philosophies of pre-Hispanic Mexico, bringing them into modern practice and daily life.

She is the creator of Xilam Mexican Martial Arts, a unique martial system and philosophy of life that draws from ancestral knowledge to cultivate emotional strength, resilience, and human development. More than a martial art, Xilam is a cultural and spiritual project — a living expression of Mexico’s ancestral memory, designed to awaken identity, harmony, and transcendence through discipline and self-discovery.

Her work is spontaneous, inspiring, and warrior-like, blending art, philosophy, and tradition into a system that has impacted generations. In recognition of her lifelong contributions, Marsiella received an Honorary Doctorate in Mexican Tradition from Tamaulipas State College (2021).

Through her teaching, writing, and presence, Abuela Marsiella embodies the essence of ancestral wisdom — a living bridge between Mexico’s past and the facilitators and healers of the future.