#StoriesThatInspire. Meet 10 activists who use digital media to strengthen and promote Mayan languages in México.

Photo of Yamily Abigail Hu Yama, used with her permission.

Learn about the inspiring story of one of the grantees selected for the 2024 Mayan Language Digital Activism Fellowship organized by Rising Voices. In this personal essay, the author shares about her experience in activism and the project through which she seeks to promote her native language within her community and online.

Culture is a fundamental element for communities. It is the basis for making our history known. Culture is a bridge between the past and the present, the worldview, the language and the traditions belonging to a community, so it is important to maintain it and always keep it alive.

My name is Yamily Abigail Hu Yama. I am 21 years old and I am a Mayan speaker. I consider myself a person committed to promoting community relationships and local knowledge. For me, language represents life, it connects me with my roots, my past, my culture, my family, my ancestors and my community. Currently, I am studying for a bachelor's degree in language and culture at the Intercultural Maya University of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

I am originally from the community of Señor in Felipe Carrillo Puerto municipality in the state of Quintana Roo. It is a community with approximately 4,000 inhabitants. Most people work in the tourist sector and are Mayan speakers, especially the adults, while children under 12 years of age only understand the language and have little knowledge of certain cultural activities.

Listening and feedback circle in the community of Xcanchakan, Yucatán. Photo by Guadalupe Us García, used with her permission.

For some years now, I have been involved in projects to strengthen the Mayan language. I have participated in projects such as “Baktun Pueblo Maya” (a youth leadership program dedicated to training young university students as cultural mediators) where I was a mentor to other high school students to support them in their process of becoming cultural promoters.

Currently, I am part of the 2024 Digital Activism Program of Mayan Languages ​where I am developing the project “U puksi’ik'al in kaajal” (”The heart of the people”) to create micro-documentaries that strengthen and disseminate some of the most important traditional practices of my community. With this work I seek to capture and share the meaning of these practices and how they are carried out within the Mayan people.

One of the micro-documentaries that we seek to make is about the town's patron saint festival, one of the largest festivals in the region, since it lasts approximately 15 days. This celebration is held in commemoration of the Black Madonna, in which 12 festive groups from the community participate. It is a space where people share their ideas and above all their traditional foods. It is not only a celebration, but a moment of union and coexistence with the people.

U puksi’ik’al in kaajal is an intergenerational project that links children, youth and older adults. The micro-documentaries will be narrated in the Yucatec Mayan language, with the intention that more children from the community can learn about their culture and at the same time raise awareness about the importance of it.

We will carry out this project among young people from the community who are interested in using technology to strengthen our language. To do this, we will train ourselves in the use of audiovisual equipment, editing processes and script creation. Later, we will make recordings with the help of wise people from the community, who will share their knowledge about traditional activities or ceremonies. We want to form a group of young people who can subsequently continue working on documenting community practices and activities in order to rescue and preserve them.

Planting of the ceiba tree for the beginning of the traditional festival of the Señor community, in commemoration of the Black Madonna. Señor, Quintana Roo. Photo by Yamily Abigail Hu Yama, used with her permission.

With these actions I hope to continue raising awareness about the importance of Indigenous languages, highlighting the great wealth of the native peoples that we do not usually focus on and value it.

Participating in different projects to strengthen the language and now being part of the Mayan Language Digital Activism Program is what has allowed me to value the importance of the knowledge that exists in my community, its culture and its language. Thanks to the support of Rising Voices I will continue to strengthen my language, but I will also learn more about the use of digital tools, which are becoming increasingly important since, although they are a tool that we currently use in any type of work, they can also help in the transmission of knowledge, and thus continue to preserve part of the local culture of the communities.

In the future I would like children to continue speaking their native language, learn about their history and culture, and use technology to benefit their community, paying special attention to the preservation of local knowledge and native languages.

Finally, I would like to give a message to the youth and children to inspire them to start projects to benefit their communities, especially the Indigenous youth. I invite them to strengthen and promote their language, even if it is at a snail's pace, because a small step is much more important than not moving.