Mayan immigrants face prejudice - Underlying discrimination within ethnic minority highlights major issue facing immigrant communities

Elias, a 25 year-old Spanish literature and Central American Studies double major at CSUN, grew up in the small town of Olintepeque, Guatemala. At the age of 15 he left due to the poverty that, according to Elias, “wouldn’t allow us to live a stable life,” and headed for Los Angeles, where his father was already creating a new life for him and his family. Elias’ father had left Guatemala in 1992 and began working as a raspado (snow cone) vendor, earning about $40 a day.

The journey to Los Angeles was long and costly says Elias, who migrated with his mother and three brothers. The cost at the time was $600 per person to cross from Mexico to the United States. Elias says, “We tried three different times to cross from Mexico to Los Angeles and once my brother and I were detained in jail, even though we were minors. Soon we ran out of money and we were forced to live on the streets of Mexico for about a week until my father was able to send money.” “*

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