HISTORY

History

MayaVision | Los Angeles, California

Our History

MayaVision was founded in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, by Indigenous Maya community members, primarily refugees from Guatemala. Twenty founding members came together to establish an organization rooted in solidarity, cultural preservation, community support, and the defense of Indigenous rights. The founding community included people of K'iche', Q'anjob'al, Kaqchikel, Akateko, and Mam heritage.

MayaVision emerged from the experiences of Maya families displaced by Guatemala's internal armed conflict, persecution, and the dispossession of ancestral lands. Many arrived in the United States seeking safety while confronting language barriers, unfamiliar institutions, and limited access to services that understood their Indigenous languages and cultural realities.

A Voice for Indigenous Maya Communities

From its beginnings, MayaVision worked to address a fundamental problem: Maya people were often expected to navigate courts, schools, hospitals, and government agencies in languages they did not speak fluently. Speaking an Indigenous Maya language is not the same as speaking Spanish, and neither guarantees the ability to communicate in English. Access to qualified language interpretation is essential for people to explain their experiences, understand their rights, and participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives.

MayaVision helped organize Indigenous language interpretation and community support, including assistance connected to immigration proceedings, legal matters, healthcare, education, and employment. Its work affirmed that Maya immigrants are Indigenous peoples with distinct languages, histories, identities, and rights.

Photograph of Policarpo Chaj
Policarpo Chaj — founding legacy

Policarpo Chaj: A Founding Legacy

MayaVision honors the memory of Policarpo Chaj, a founding member and co-founder whose life was devoted to serving Indigenous Maya communities. A K'iche' interpreter, Maya spiritual leader, and community advocate, Policarpo helped people overcome language barriers and sought to ensure that Indigenous voices could be heard and respected.

His work extended beyond interpretation. He understood that language access, cultural dignity, spiritual identity, and the right to be recognized as Indigenous were inseparable. Through his service to Maya immigrants and families, he helped strengthen a community building a home far from its ancestral territories.

Policarpo Chaj passed away on February 16, 2021. MayaVision remembers him with gratitude and respect. His commitment to community, Indigenous rights, and cultural continuity remains part of the organization's legacy.

Representing Maya Peoples at the United Nations

MayaVision's commitment to Indigenous rights has extended beyond Los Angeles to international forums. In May 2013, Policarpo Chaj, then identified as Executive Director of MayaVisión, participated in the 12th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

The statement addressed challenges confronting Indigenous peoples in Guatemala, including the protection of ancestral lands, consultation with Indigenous communities regarding extractive industries and development projects, and the implementation of international recommendations concerning Indigenous rights.

It also called attention to violence against Indigenous communities and unresolved land conflicts in Guatemala, including situations affecting Santa Cruz Barillas, Totonicapán, Santa María Xalapán, and San Juan Sacatepéquez. It urged the international community to support dialogue, mediation, and peaceful solutions grounded in the participation of Indigenous peoples.

The statement reflected Indigenous values of dialogue, consensus, peace, and harmony, as well as the relationship between communities, ancestral territories, and Mother Earth. This international engagement represents an important chapter in MayaVision's history and demonstrates the connection between its local work and broader efforts to defend Indigenous self-determination, environmental protection, ancestral lands, and human rights across borders.

Historical reference:
Declaration of the Guatemalan Indigenous Peoples Caucus, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, May 29, 2013.

Preserving Culture Across Generations

MayaVision's mission has always extended beyond immediate social needs. Language, music, ceremony, spirituality, traditional knowledge, and relationships between generations are essential to the survival and continuity of Maya communities.

The organization creates opportunities for Maya families to gather, celebrate their heritage, share ancestral knowledge, and pass cultural traditions to younger generations. Traditional marimba music has been an important part of this work, alongside cultural celebrations, ceremonial practices, and community education.

In 2009, MayaVision received support from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts to strengthen its Suspiro Q'anjob'al marimba group. This support helped sustain musical instruction and performances through rehearsal space and sound equipment.

Leadership and Continuity

Photograph of Nesha Xuncax
Nesha Xuncax — continuing leadership

MayaVision's history continues through the people who have sustained its work and carried its founding vision into the present. Nesha Xuncax remains part of the organization's leadership, contributing to the continued work of preserving Maya culture and supporting Indigenous communities.

Today, MayaVision continues to connect cultural preservation with language access, immigrant rights, community education, family well-being, traditional music, Maya spirituality, and the defense of Indigenous peoples and their ancestral territories.

Rooted in the experiences and leadership of Maya communities in Los Angeles, MayaVision looks toward a future in which Maya languages remain living languages, young people grow up connected to their heritage, and Indigenous Maya communities have the resources and recognition they deserve.

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