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Anecdotal, but I was in the Yucatan Peninsula in 2019 doing Spanish classes. My teacher was Maya, and he said now it had become fashionable to be able to speak
by dorchadas 4y ago
Anecdotal, but I was in the Yucatan Peninsula in 2019 doing Spanish classes. My teacher was Maya, and he said now it had become fashionable to be able to speak Yucatec Maya whereas growing up you didn't want to. Several other of the Maya teachers also confirmed, and stated they were (ré)learning when they might've forgotten or not been raised with it.
They were also very much 'Somos Maya first, it was the core part of their identity, over being Mexican.
The same is less true for the Chuj Maya I taught in the States, though since they immigrated there they're at much greater risk of assimilation and losing their culture. But a lot of work had to be done in teaching them to not be ashamed to be Maya. But, given they mostly were refugees from Guatemala, it makes sense.
- acjohnson55 4y agoThat's really interesting, thanks! I find it really interesting to understand how different the pre- and post-Columbian experiences were/are across the Americas. In the Amazon, you still have people who were never directly impacted by colonization (although certainly everyone has been indirectly impacted at this point).