Xiye Bastida

Xiye Bastida
Bastida at the premiere of Run Amok at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival
Born (2002-04-18) 18 April 2002 (age 24)
Atlacomulco, State of Mexico, Mexico
CitizenshipMexico, Chile
OccupationClimate justice activist
Years active2017-present
Known forSchool strike for climate
Re-Earth Initiative
Notable workAll We Can Save (contributor)
Websitewww.xiyebeara.com

Xiye Bastida Patrick ("she-yeh", [ʃi-jɛ]; born 18 April 2002) is a Mexican-born, New York-based climate activist. She is of Otomi descent, one of the indigenous peoples of Mexico. She is one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future in New York City, and has been a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant visibility in climate activism. She was in 2020 a co-founder (with Theresa Rose Sebastian) and as of September 2026 is executive director of the youth-driven organization Re-Earth Initiative.

Early life and education

Bastida awaiting Greta Thunberg's arrival, 2019

Xiye Bastida Patrick was born on 18 April 2002 in Atlacomulco, State of Mexico, to parents Mindahi and Geraldine, who are also environmentalists, and raised in the village of San Pedro Tultepec in the municipality of Lerma. Her father is of Otomi descent while her Chilean mother has Celtic ancestry.

Bastida and her family moved to New York City after extreme flooding hit their hometown of San Pedro Tultepec in 2015, following three years of drought.

Bastida attended The Beacon School. She enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences in 2020, and graduated with a degree in environmental studies and policy.

As of 2019 Bastida held dual Mexican and Chilean citizenship.

Activism

Bastida began her activism with an environmental club. The club protested at Albany and New York City Hall and lobbied for the Climate and Community Leaders Protection Act (CLCPA) and the Dirty Buildings Bill. It was then she heard about Greta Thunberg and her climate strikes.[citation needed]

Bastida was one of the major organizers of Fridays for Future (School Strike for Climate) New York City at the age of 19, and has been a leading voice for indigenous and immigrant visibility in climate activism.

Bastida gave a speech on Indigenous Cosmology at the 9th United Nations World Urban Forum, and was awarded the "Spirit of the UN Award" in 2018.

Bastida led her high school, The Beacon School, in the first major climate strike in New York City, on 15 March 2019. She and Alexandria Villaseñor officially greeted Thunberg upon her arrival from Europe by boat in September 2019 to attend the UN Climate Summit. Xiye has been coined "America's Greta Thunberg" however has said that "calling youth activists the ‘Greta Thunberg’ of their country diminishes Greta's personal experience and individual struggles".

Bastida contributed to All We Can Save (2020), an anthology of essays about climate change written by women. In 2021 she spoke at the Leadership Summit on Climate hosted by the Biden Administration, delivering a speech urging world leaders to participate more in climate activism.

While unable to vote in the United States as she was not an American citizen, Bastida indicated support for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 presidential election, although stressing the bipartisanship of the climate movement.

In 2025, Bastida gave a TED Talk on climate justice and intergenerational leadership, emphasizing the importance of Indigenous knowledge, youth activism, and equitable solutions to the climate crisis. She shared her personal journey as an environmental advocate and called for systemic change that centers frontline communities in global climate policy.

Roles in organizations

Bastida is a former member of Sunrise Movement and Extinction Rebellion.[citation needed]

She is co-founder (with Theresa Rose Sebastian) and (as of September 2026) executive director of Re-Earth Initiative, "a youth-driven movement committed to reshaping the future by empowering communities with knowledge, resources, and regenerative practices". The organization was founded on 22 April 2020, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, a month after the launch of a digital campaign called "We The Planet". Re-Earth administers a funding program called "RE!Granting", which assists individuals and communities in leading positive change in work supporting or restoring fragile ecosystems.

Bastida is on the administration committee of the People's Climate Movement.[when?][citation needed]

In film

Teen Vogue released a documentary short We Rise on Bastida in December 2019. Bastida collaborated with 2040 Film to create a three-minute video called Imagine the Future, exploring what landscapes and cityscapes could look like in the future. It was released on YouTube in March 2020.

She co-produced and narrated the film The Way of the Whale, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in February 2026. The film, which took three years to make and was directed and shot by Franco Campos-Lopez Benyunes, is about the relationship how gray whales and their calves seek out human interaction at Laguna San Ignacio, a lagoon on the coast of Mexico’s Baja California in Mexico. The film was a Magen Entertainment production, in association with the Ocean Foundation and the International Community Foundation. The score was composed by Adrian Lino Hernandez.

In 2026 Bastida appears in a documentary film presented by English actor Benedict Cumberbatch, titled How to Live on Earth, which was released on YouTube on 20 September 2026. The film is about how we can live in ways that help to protect nature and the planet.

Recognition and awards

Filmography

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Xiye is pronounced "she-yeh", [ʃi-jɛ].[citation needed]

References

  1. ↑ Bagley, Katherine (26 November 2019). "Meet Xiye Bastida Patrick, the New York version of Greta Thunberg". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ↑ @DiscipleGreta (18 April 2020). "Happy Birthday, Xiye Bastida! @xiyebastida
    Xiye is a amazing climate activist and all-around wonderful person. [URL] @AlexandriaV2005 @GretaThunberg @polyglotale @olivepit_ @maud14 @bridgekid @goldsgracie"     (Tweet). Retweeted by UN-Habitat Youth [@unhabitatyouth] – via Twitter.
  3. ↑ "Mindahi Crescencio Bastida Muñoz - Bio". Stop Ecocide International. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Vincent, Maddie (17 August 2019). "Youth activists stress collaboration, urgency to respond to climate change". Aspen Times. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "How an Indigenous Teen Climate Activist Plans to Change the World". Teen Vogue. 19 December 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. ↑ Bagley, Katherine (7 November 2019). "From a Young Climate Movement Leader, a Determined Call for Action". Yale Environment 360. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  7. ↑ Perry, Aaron William (27 August 2019). "Episode 46 – Xiye Bastida, Global Youth Leader: "Strike with Us!"". Yale Environment 360. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  8. ↑ Tierra, Desafío (28 August 2019). "Xiye Bastida, la adolescente de madre chilena que recibió a Greta Thunberg en su llegada a Nueva York". CNN Chile (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Xiye Bastida". Audubon. 27 July 2020. Archived from the original on 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Lucente Sterling, Anna (25 September 2019). "This Teen Climate Activist Is Fighting To Ensure Indigenous And Marginalized Voices Are Being Heard". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  11. 1 2 ""Young People Have Had Enough": Global Climate Strike Youth Activists on Why They Are Marching Today". Democracy Now. 20 September 2019. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Meisenzahl, Elizabeth (28 March 2020). "Hailing from Tennessee to Indonesia, meet five members of the newly admitted class of 2024". Daily Pennsylvanian. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  13. ↑ "Home". XIYE BASTIDA. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 29 August 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 Labayen, Evalena (10 December 2019). "Environmental activist Xiye Bastida says "OK, Doomers"". Interview Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  15. ↑ Zoeller, Chezza (14 October 2021). "Climate Hero: Xiye Bastida". One Earth. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  16. ↑ Burton, Nylah (11 October 2019). "Meet the young activists of color who are leading the charge against climate disaster". Vox. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  17. 1 2 "Xiye Bastida". Omega. 17 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  18. ↑ Kamenetz, Anya (19 January 2020). "'You Need To Act Now': Meet 4 Girls Working To Save The Warming World". NPR. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  19. ↑ Cimons, Marlene (19 September 2020). "Meet Xiye Bastida, America's Greta Thunberg". PBS. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "Meet Xiye Bastida, America's Greta Thunberg". Peril & Promise. 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  21. ↑ "My name is not Greta Thunberg: Why diverse voices matter in the climate movement". theelders.org. 19 June 2020. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  22. ↑ "Contributors". All We Can Save. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Mexican environmentalist, 19, reprimands world leaders for climate inaction". Mexico News Daily. 23 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  24. ↑ "Xiye Bastida: What True Climate Justice Requires". TED. Archived from the original on 25 March 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  25. ↑ "Our Team". Re-Earth Initiative. 9 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Re-Earth Initiative". Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  27. 1 2 "Our Story". Re-Earth Initiative. 9 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "RE!Granting". web.archive.org. 24 July 2026. Archived from the original on 4 August 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  29. ↑ Kirkland, Allegra (19 December 2019). "Xiye Bastida Opens Up About the Personal Costs of Activism In Documentary 'We Rise'". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  30. ↑ "Imagine the future" with Xiye Bastida on YouTube. Mission 2000, 2 March 2020. "Footage kindly provided by the 2040 Film."
  31. ↑ Bastida, Xiye; Campos-Lopez Benyunes, Franco (10 February 2026). "Sundance 2026: Xiye Bastida and Franco Campos-Lopez Benyunes on Hope, Whales, and Resistance" (Interview). Interviewed by Martin, Rebecca. Cinema Femme. Archived from the original on 24 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  32. ↑ "About the movie". The Way of the Whale (in Spanish). 26 October 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  33. ↑ "About". Music of Adrian Lino Hernandez. 29 December 2025. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  34. ↑ Heath, Victoria (2 September 2026). "'How to Live on Earth' documentary presented by Benedict Cumberbatch to premiere on YouTube". Geographical. Archived from the original on 17 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  35. ↑ How to Live on Earth, Feature Documentary Presented by Benedict Cumberbatch on YouTube 21 September 2026.
  36. ↑ Horton, Helena (15 September 2026). "Benedict Cumberbatch on his Earth-saving eco film: 'We are in the last grab of the extraction era'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 September 2026. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
  37. ↑ Cobo, Nalleli (13 September 2023). "Xiye Bastida". Time. Archived from the original on 16 September 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  38. ↑ "Forbes 30 Under 30 2026". Forbes. December 2026.