Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas, Rigoberta Menchú, página 294.

I don’t need to understand it to respect them.  Respect is bigger than my little world.  I’ve always known that it’s best to be modest and not get involved in the game of interpretations.  Not get involved in the word game, or the war of definitions and concepts.  Maybe that's because the indigenous were always misunderstood and many people thought that our being different was a good pretext for despising us.

Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas, Rigoberta Menchú, page 294.

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Rigoberta Menchú Tum nació en 1959 en Chimel, una pequeña aldea de las montañas del Quiché guatemalteco. Como cualquier niña maya, conoció de pequeña el trabajo duro en los grandes latifundios y, a los 19 años, entró a militar en el Comité de Unidad Campesina (CUC), mientras el Ejército Nacional llevaba a cabo su campaña de tierra arrasada: el exterminio de la población sospechosa de pertenecer a la oposición armada.  El 9 de septiembre de 1979 su hermano menor fue secuestrado y asesinado por el Ejército; el 31 de enero de 1980 su padre fue quemado vivo junto con otros veintinueve ocupantes de la Embajada de España, y pocos meses después, su madre también moría torturada.  Rigoberta salió del país y se refugió en México a los 21 años, en donde fue acogida por Samuel Ruiz, obispo de Chiapas.  Allí continuó aprendiendo el español, así como a leer y escribir.  Al año siguiente volvió a Guatemala, pero muy pronto tuvo que refugiarse en Nicaragua y posteriormente en México.  Desde allí inició una serie de viajes cuyo epicentro era Ginebra, donde participaba dentro del Grupo de Trabajo de la ONU sobre Poblaciones Indígenas.  En 1988 regresó otra vez a su país; fue encarcelada inmediatamente y se vio obligada a partir de nuevo al exilio, convertida ya en la voz de todo un continente.  Participó en la organización de los encuentros indígenas previos a la conmemoración del Quinto Centenario y ello consolidó su liderazgo.  Desde 1992, fecha en que recibió el Premio Nobel de la Paz, sigue trabajando, ya en Guatemala, por la defensa de los derechos humanos particularmente en las áreas de desarrollo y educación a través de la fundación que lleva su nombre.

Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas, Rigoberta Menchú, 1998, solapa.

Rigoberta Menchú Tum was born in 1959 in Chimel, a small village in the mountains of Quiché in Guatemala.  Like all Mayan children, she learned the meaning of hard work at a young age, on large farms or haciendas.  When she was 19 years old she joined the Committee for Peasant Unity as a soldier, at the time when the National Army was carrying out its campaign of “scorched earth”:  the extermination of all people suspected of belonging to the armed opposition force.  On September 9, 1979 her younger brother was kidnapped and assassinated by the Army; on January 31, 1980 her father was burned alive along with 29 other occupants of the Spanish Embassy, and a few months later, her mother was also tortured and died.  At 21 years of age Rigoberta left the country and sought refuge in Mexico, where Samuel Ruiz, bishop of Chiapas, gave her shelter.  There she continued to learn Spanish, as well as to read and to write.  The following year she returned to Guatemala, but quickly had to seek refuge in Nicaragua and then in Mexico.  From there she started a series of trips centered in Geneva, where she participated in the United Nations Work Group for Indigenous Peoples.  In 1988 she returned to her country again; she was immediately incarcerated and had to seek exile again, for she had become the voice of a whole continent.  She strengthened her leadership participating in the organization of the indigenous meetings prior to the commemoration of the 500 year anniversary.  Since 1992, the date she received the Nobel Peace Prize, she has been working in Guatemala again, in defense of human rights, particularly in the areas of development and education, with funding from the foundation that carries her name.

Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas, Rigoberta Menchú, 1998, jacket cover.

Her first work outlines the intense suffering that Rigoberta has had to overcome in order to fight against injustice after losing so many members of her family and community, and then having to learn to communicate in Spanish to be able to tell her story.  Her first book,  Me llamo Rigoberta Menchú y así me nació la conciencia told her story and struggle, and focused  on Maya Quiché culture.  In this novel Rigoberta tells more of her story and culture, but now she philosophizes about the needs of humanity, basing her beliefs on ancient Mayan teachings.  One can sense how she has changed from the first novel to the second, having moved in international circles, fighting for justice every step of the way.

Rigoberta: La nieta de los mayas is testimonial literature.  This genre started back in the days of the conquest, when the Indians would tell the king of the injustices they were suffering in the hopes that he would better protect them.  In war torn countries this type of literature is very necessary and common.  It gives voice to the injustices suffered, it gives testimony.  It’s not surprising that Rigoberta has chosen this genre.  I wish I could quote the whole novel here.  It is a heart moving book.  Here are just a few excerpts.