Cultural Preservation

The preservation of Maya culture is reflected in many Proyecto Itzaes programs and Maya language classes are an important part of PI curriculum.

• In Chicxulub Puerto, a cultural preservation project involving students and their elders has been underway since 1999. PI students have taped interviews ( in Maya and Spanish) with their grandparents, aunts and uncles about local traditions and stories. These interviews are transcribed and archived digitally along with scans of old photographs and other historical materials. www.proyectoitzaes.org/Juventud ingles.htm
• Children writing their own books in Maya and Spanish: www.myrealebooks.com/15C
• The 2006/07 Rotary project to educate our communites about Type II Diabetes, includes interviewing and the archiving information about traditional foods, fishing, and agriculture.
• To provide more children’s books that reflect the dominant culture, PI is producing Maya/Spanish books. The book, Jauna La Iguana y La Fiesta / X-Juana Juuj Yéetel Cha’an will be available soon