18111 Nordhoff Street

Northridge, CA 91330
September 15, 2022
Giovanni Batz
2300 Red River Street D0800
Austin, TX 78712

Reading your essay “Expressions of Maya Identity in Los Angeles: Challenge and Success
Among Maya Youth” made me see these issues in a different perspective. Although I was aware
of the difficulties immigrants and their children face in America since I myself am a
first-generation child of immigrants from Central America, I did not know the challenges and
disadvantages Maya from Guatemala especially faced. These challenges described in your essay
made me realize that I come from privilege in a lot of ways. Mayas and Maya children are forced
to live in a country that is not always welcoming of them in order to survive and please others.

I found it saddening to learn that “discrimination and a strong anti-immigrant environment” are
leading causes for Maya to repress their culture and to assimilate more into Latino/Hispanic
culture. I also found it disheartening to know that for a lot of Mayas, they have difficulty learning
both Spanish and English. Maya children often learn English at school and Spanish on the
streets, while their native tongue becomes harder to maintain or keep at all. The discrimination in
the Guatemalan and Latino community against Maya for pronouncing words wrong and the use
of the derogatory word “indito” or “indio” made me sympathize with them.

As I read your paper and learned more about why some Maya choose to leave their indigenous
roots behind, it breaks my heart to know that a lot of them are shameful or apathetic to their
indigenous background. Although the circumstances are sad, I understand why they chose to
stray away from their culture since they were trying their best to survive in America. Maya
women stopped wearing their trajes, Mayas began to learn to speak Spanish properly, and Maya
children were socialized into U.S. culture that inevitably made their culture hard to maintain.

The silver lining I found while reading your piece was discovering that the Maya community
continues to create workshops and events to keep their culture alive for younger generations.
Some younger generations of Maya are interested in learning their culture like Maria, a
sixteen-year old U.S. born daughter of a Maya who declares she is not Latino/Hispanic, but
Maya alone. I find it interesting that for many Maya, their identity is fluid. Some choose to solely
identify as Maya while others leave their indigenous legacy behind and identify as
Latino/Hispanic. Some even identify as both. Regardless of how Maya in the United States
identify as, it is an understatement to say that Maya Guatemalans have faced unrecognized
animosity, discrimination, and a large number of setbacks that have made their lives difficult.
Best Regards,
Michael Moran