Experts estimate that a language is lost every two weeks — and that half of the world’s 7,000 spoken languages could be lost by the end of the century. Quechua is the most widely spoken Indigenous language in the Americas, with approximately 7 to 10 million speakers living primarily in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. But like so many Indigenous languages, Qechua is vulnerable due to cultural pressures and discrimination.
The new documentary Runa Simi — “our language” in Quechua — follows Fernando Valencia, a Peruvian voice actor, Indigenous activist, radio host and single father, who has dubbed many online clips of animated movies into Quechua from his home in Cusco, Peru. In the film, Fernando pursues his most ambitious goal yet: to fully dub Disney’s animated classic The Lion King into Quechua, with the help of his 8-year-old son, Dylan.
“I am sharing our culture to the worldwide culture,” says Fernando Valencia, who started dubbing films after noticing that Quechua-speaking Indigenous children were watching movies dubbed into Spanish that they couldn’t understand.
“There’s like one hour a week of Quechua [in school], so it is very hard to actually learn it,” says Fernando’s son Dylan, who is now 14 years old.
“Indigenous people in Peru are fighting for basic rights, like having water, electricity, healthcare, education in their own language,” says Augusto Zegarra, the director of Runa Simi. “But they also have the right to access entertainment in their own language.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Democracy Now! | Radio Free (2026-08-28T12:40:40+00:00) “The Lion King” in Quechua?: New Film “Runa Simi” Profiles Indigenous Artist Keeping Language Alive. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2026/08/28/the-lion-king-in-quechua-new-film-runa-simi-profiles-indigenous-artist-keeping-language-alive/
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