The poem “Pensamiento Serpentino” (Serpentine Thought) by the playwright Luis Valdez is a classic in the field of Chicano literature. Originally published in 1973 and composed in mixed English and Spanish, it stands as one of the most influential works to emerge from the genre. Conceived as an ode to Chicano indigeneity, some of its themes, such as “Hunab Ku” (“One God”; monotheism) and “In lak’ech” (“you are my other me”), transcend cultural boundaries and have become part of popular New Age consciousness. Valdez’s ideas about Chicano Indianness were inspired by the Mexican scholar Domingo Martinez Paredes, a native Maya speaker and part of Mexico City’s neo-indigenismo movement.