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Working Alongside each other for 30 Years: Jeronimo Camposeco, Allan Burns and Maya Communities in Florida

2012; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 34; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.17730/praa.34.1.y2xh47743842rx0v

2994-1628

Jeronimo Camposeco, Allan Burns,

Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

Although the Maya Diaspora is often seen as the result of the Civil War in Guatemala during the 1980s, small numbers of Maya were becoming experienced travelers to El Norte from the 1970s. I was a teacher at the Acatec Parochial School of San Miguel starting in 1960, and the people in that area had great economic problems from unproductive lands. Much of the land was stony and the fields were located on the slopes of the mountains, therefore people went to look for temporary work in the lowland plantations. Many people ventured to the nearby cities: Comitan and Comalapa, Chiapas, Mexico, to get clothes, hats, shoes, food and drinks to sell in their villages. One of them, Juan Diego from San Rafael, in one of his trips in early 1970, met a Mexican who told him about economic opportunities in the United States. Afterward they decided to go to Los Angeles, California. Later on, he helped his friend Jose Francisco Aguirre (Chepe) from San Miguel to come to Los Angeles.