Why do (some) Guatemalans get very upset when asked about Indians in Guatemala??

Question

asked a Guatemalan woman about all the indians in Guatemala and she got pissed and said they don't exist. Why??

Every article that I read about Guatemala mentions mayans, indians, indeginous, etc.

Is she lying or what? Why do they (some of them) go mad?

Answer 1

I will tell you as I live in Guatemala.

Maybe I know why your friend is upset.   It is not that we deny that we have in our country Mayan people.

The problem is another. I will tell you my experience. We have here an organization called INGUAT who is in charge of promote tourism to Guatemala, but in their campaign they only show Mayan people.   Guatemala not only have Mayan people, we are a multicultural and multilingual country.   So what INGUAT has to do is to promote the country as this not only the Mayan people.  

I have friends from all over the world who have seen information about the country and believe me it is annoying that people think and ask if we still live in the cup of the trees.  

For example...... the Mayan culture was one of the biggest cultures in the world full of wisdom, beauty and left a lot of knowledge for future generations.  But see how the movie Apocalypto picture them?  As a mad culture which is not true.

It is real that ALLl ancient cultures liked to make human sacrifices but Apocalypto never mentioned the good things they had and they gave people a bag image of Mayans.

And as the previous participant told you there is a crash between races here.   Which is sad.

Answer 2

Guatemala has a low opinion on Natives which is common throughout Latin America

Answer 3

indigenous people in Guatemala are about 60% population but there's racism against indigenous in there

Answer 4

Guatemala fights this racism, it's sad to see that people are embarrassed of their country and theirs people... the reason that woman got mad and said they don't exist is because there exists a cultural clash that divides societies in Guatemala. She is one of the many ridiculous people that are afraid people might confuse them and related them with the mayans, but Guatemala is such a diverse country where there are indians, mestizos, garifunas (black race) and ladins.

Answer 5

Guatemala is approx. 45% of indigenous descent.  There is a long and terrible history of racism towards indigenous peoples in Guatemala, as there is in much of Latin America.  The ruling elite are almost entirely of Spanish descent, as are the large landowners.  

The history of the Maya and other groups in Guatemala is one of torture, racism, forced labor, poverty, poor education, etc...  Some people to this day think of the Indians as lazy and backwards, and the person you were talking to may have some of these feelings, which is sad.

Answer 6

I know tons of Guatemalans and none have ever had any issues dealing with the fact that Mayan Indians exist.  

It is pretty common for someone call some one indian as a reference to them being low class or stupid.