In 2000, Magali Canul migrated from Oxkutzcab, a municipality in the Mexican State of Yucatan, to the city of San Francisco. She came with her husband, who moved here for work.
Canul now lives in the outer Mission and is a full time mom taking care of her three young children. A proud Yucatecan, Canul volunteers with Asociación MAYAB, a San Francisco-based Yucatec Mayan organization where she helps with local events and festivals. MAYABís mission is to create an environment where the Yucatec Maya community can thrive while celebrating their culture and traditions.
“Here we are very involved in our culture,” said Canul who speaks the indigenous language of Yucatec Maya.
This year, MAYAB is urging the community to participate in the 2010 U.S. census count in order to ensure that the growing local Yucatecan Maya population is counted. MAYAB estimates that there are between 10,000 and 15,000 Yucatecans in the Bay Area.
According to Canul the census holds special importance for the Yucatecan community.
“In the simple act of participating we are making ourselves count, and letting the government know that we are here and that we exist in this country. We are allowing our voice to be heard, and more than anything, this will make them listen. There is a large Yucatecan community here and often, they need help,” said Canul.
She and other members of MAYAB are on a campaign to get their community counted.
However, MAYAB has to address obstacles that stand in the way of counting the community. For Yucatecans who are here without immigration papers the fear that the census information will end up in the hands of ICE and they will be deported is a major obstacle.
Canul says that MAYAB is trying to calms these fear by informing people that a Federal law ó U.S. Code Title 13 ó protects the information and prevents the U.S. Census Bureau from sharing it with any other national, state or city agency.
Other obstacles include language and literacy. While some Yucatecans only speak their indigenous language, according to Canul most Yucatecans also speak Spanish and the bilingual census form will be widely available in Spanish. However, she is more concerned with illiteracy.
Despite these concerns and obstacles the Census will provide a way to officially count the relatively recent and elusive community and could open the door to more resource and funding for their unique needs.
Stressing the importance of “making yourself count” Canulís personal decision to participate in the 2010 Census speaks for itself and it will help to reveal the strong presence of the Yucatecan community in the U.S., and in the Bay Area.