In this episode of Paranormal Borders, we are joined by multidisciplinary artist and performer Guillermo Estrada for a deep conversation on identity, borderlands, and transdimensional art practices.
Estrada introduces us to Rancho Shampoo, his long-developing alter-cosmic persona: an “indígena alien” figure born from the lived contradictions of migration, residency status, and ancestral memory. From Tecate and Mexicali to San Diego, Estrada reflects on how being legally labeled an “alien” became the conceptual seed for an artistic mythology that moves between the border, the body, and the cosmos.
We explore Estrada’s concept of the Almendroides — a sacred, ritual substance capable of launching consciousness beyond linear time and space — and the expanded universe of characters surrounding it, including the Yeti guardian and the Cerro Sagrado. Through these figures, Estrada describes art as a technology for communicating with ancestors, collaborating across dimensions, and rethinking what borders actually separate.
The conversation moves through punk histories, performance, MexiCali Biennial collaborations, paranormal encounters, and speculative futures — including reflections on artificial intelligence, apocalypse narratives, and whether spiritual technologies might offer alternative modes of survival.
Photographs and Videos:
[9:37] Rancho Shampoo. “Aliendigenismo: Rancho Shampoo & the Indian Dub Orchestra.” YouTube, July 4, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvJ6_UWCpbU.
[10:09] Rancho Shampoo. “RANCHO SHAMPOO – ‘SIERRA NEVADA’ [OFICIAL].” YouTube, November 24, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG7E-qtH-II.
[13:58] Rancho Shampoo. “Rancho Shampoo & Indian Dub Orchestra ‘PACORRO’ [OFICIAL].” YouTube, January 24, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7suWtDQXQIk.
[17:48] MexiCali Biennial (@mexicalibiennial), “Opening night performance | Guillermo Estrada: Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas is on view through January 10 at MXCL BNL LAB,” Instagram video, November 4, 2025, https://www.instagram.com/.
[23:57] MexiCali Biennial (@mexicalibiennial), “Flashback to Rancho Shampoo at the Cheech Center @thecheechcenter for Artswalk during the Land of Milk & Honey exhibition…” Instagram video, November 25, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/DCznk4DoldQ/?hl=en.
[24:11] Mexicali Biennial and Casa la línea. “Rancho Shampoo: Almendroides in Calexico 2.0.” Mexicali Biennial. November 30, 2024. https://mexicalibiennial.org/event/rancho-shampoo-almendroides-in-calexico-2-0/.
[25:02] Rancho Shampoo. “Aliendigenismo: Rancho Shampoo & the Indian Dub Orchestra.” YouTube, July 4, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvJ6_UWCpbU.
[25:54] Rancho Shampoo. “RANCHO SHAMPOO – ‘SIERRA NEVADA’ [OFICIAL].” YouTube, November 24, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG7E-qtH-II.
[29:54] Rancho Shampoo. “Aliendigenismo: Rancho Shampoo & the Indian Dub Orchestra.” YouTube, July 4, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvJ6_UWCpbU.
[39:09] Rancho Shampoo (@ranchoshampoo). “Muy contento con este regalo de mi compa @tepepunk y también gracias a @daniloween. GRACIAS!!” Instagram carousel. February 13, 2022.
[42:39] Homeless Collective. Transborder Game. Performance at the Calexico–Mexicali border wall, 2010.
[44:14] MexiCali Biennial. “Los Nuevos Maevans at the MexiCali Biennial 2013.” YouTube, July 18, 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvUrDa22QYo.
[49:26] Rubén Ortiz Torres. Photograph from Doña Pancha Fest 2019, posted April 19, 2019. Triton Art Collaborative Student Group (Facebook group). https://www.facebook.com/groups/UCSDTritonArt/posts/2186192311461314/.
[49:28] Ibid. Rubén Ortiz Torres. Photograph from Doña Pancha Fest 2019, posted April 19, 2019. Triton Art Collaborative Student Group (Facebook group). https://www.facebook.com/groups/UCSDTritonArt/posts/2186192311461314/.
[49:31] Ibid. Rubén Ortiz Torres. Photograph from Doña Pancha Fest 2019, posted April 19, 2019. Triton Art Collaborative Student Group (Facebook group). https://www.facebook.com/groups/UCSDTritonArt/posts/2186192311461314/.
[50:30] Ibid. Rubén Ortiz Torres. Photograph from Doña Pancha Fest 2019, posted April 19, 2019. Triton Art Collaborative Student Group (Facebook group). https://www.facebook.com/groups/UCSDTritonArt/posts/2186192311461314/.
[51:33] Escocia No Es Un Banco. 2022. Film poster.
[52:56] Los Nuevos Maevans in convenience store scene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[53:52] Cristian Franco on cellphone scene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[54:20] Cristian and Julian outside scene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[55:27] Memo in guitar storescene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[55:47] Guillermo at payphone scene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[56:00] Los Nuevos Maevans in convenience store scene. Excerpt from Escocia No Es Un Banco. Directed by Carlos Matsuo and Cristian Franco Martín. 2022. Film.
[56:29] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo and Yeti from Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[56:34] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo and Yeti from Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[56:37] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo during installation for Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[56:42] Ed Gomez. Photograph of artist talk with Rubén Ortiz Torres and Guillermo for Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[56:47] MexiCali Biennial (@mexicalibiennial). “Work in progress: Check out artist-in-residence Guillermo Estrada, a.k.a. Memo Navajas, a.k.a. Rancho Shampoo’s window installation at the MXCL BNL LAB as part of the Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas exhibition…” Instagram carousel. December 6, 2025. https://www.instagram.com/p/DR7-wA0Ezcf/.
[56:49] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo during installation for Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[56:55] Ed Gomez. Video of Guillermo and Yeti walking through MXCL BNL LAB forAlmendroides, Aliens & Indígenas, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[57:04] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo during installation for Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[57:09] Ed Gomez. Photograph of Guillermo during installation for Almendroides, Aliens & Indígenas at MXCL BNL LAB, 2026. Courtesy of the MexiCali Biennial.
[57:13] Rancho Shampoo. “Rancho Shampoo & Indian Dub Orchestra ‘PACORRO’ [OFICIAL].” YouTube, January 24, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7suWtDQXQIk.
[57:19] Ed Gomez. Video of Guillermo walking through the back alley of MXCL BNL LAB with Almendroides tree, 2026. Courtesy of MexiCali Biennial.
Resources for further study:
“Ancient Ties: Indigenous Peoples and the Extraterrestrial” (2023) by Ruth H. Burns for Atmos
“Arte, autenticidad y anarquía: una mirada al mundo de Los Nuevos Maevans” (2023) by Teresa Sánchez Vilches for Cruce: Mi Comunidad Iteso
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Fourth Edition (2012) by Gloria Anzaldúa
“Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s Autohistoria-teoría as an Epistemology of Self-Knowledge/ Ignorance” (2016) by Andrea J. Pitts for Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy
“‘Escocia no es un banco’: un documental punk y corrosivo” (2022) by Revista Marvin
“Metro Underground / ‘Escocia no es un banco’ y el punk no es un uniforme” (2022) by South Florida Sun Sentinel
The PARA/normal Borders Podcast is made possible by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.