People of the Mercado

Mariana Francisco, a Maya Kanjobal, was born Nesha Xuncax Che in San Miguel Acatán, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, where she embraced the traditions passed down by her uncle, a curandero and comadron (medicine man and male midwife) who taught her plant medicine and how to read the language of the rivers. Despite a history of colonization and war that polarized indigenous communities, Mariana refused to renounce her Mayan culture and spirituality, even if it was at her peril.  Thousands of indigenous people were persecuted, tortured, murdered, and tossed in the river. The bodies floated in the river that was once the hallmark of Mariana’s childhood and people often said they could hear the river weep over the unfathomable atrocities. Mariana would later experience the same persecution when she became a nurse, health educator, and leader in her community.

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After graduating as a nurse, Mariana moved to San Marcos to work at the public hospital where she eventually became one of coordinators of the program Sobrevivencia Infantil (Infant Survival), funded by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. Mariana’s leadership capacity also entailed training other health promoters and midwives, as well as developing community leaders. With the government’s oppressive regime at its pinnacle individuals who served in community leadership roles were persecuted as according to the government they posed an ostensible threat. Lamentably, fearing for her safety, in 1990 at the age of 32, Mariana was forced to flee her country to seek political asylum in the United States.

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Once in the U.S., Mariana was immediately recruited to help at Clinica Romero by a priest who heard of her nursing career in Guatemala. The priest, who had witnessed many Mayan families struggle to advocate for their children due to the language barrier, knew that Mariana’s interpretation skills would fill an enormous void and ensure families were adequately served. Mariana was eventually hired as an interpreter, but would later discover that the extensive need among her people seeped beyond the walls of Clinica Romero and into the justice system as many Mayan families who did not understand the laws and regulations had their children taken away arbitrarily.  In response, Mariana and 20 other community leaders formed Maya Vision, an indigenous organization in Los Angeles that provides advocacy and interpretation services.

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Since her arrival in the United States, Mariana has worked tirelessly alongside other Mayan leaders in the defense, organization, and education of the Mayan community. She has established close relationships with other Indigenous Nations in the United States and has testified multiple times at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Affairs.

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After 30 years of working at Clinica Romero, Mariana is a recognized leader in her community and currently a Seiu 721 union representative. In 2002, Mariana was one of five women presented with the Women Changing the World award by the California Institute of Technology. In spite of her life of service and impact in Los Angeles, Mariana would like to one day return to her town in Guatemala to continue the work that she left behind.