By: Alana Mazzei

 Born January 9, 1959 in Guatemala  There are 22 ethnic groups in Guatemala, she is Quiché (a branch of Mayan)  She worked on cotton and coffee farms, or fincas, with her family for about half of each year.  hu

 The master of the finca was from the Iadino group. He made them work long hours with little pay in harsh conditions.  One day, her younger brother died of malnutrition.  As a result, Rigoberta's mother lost her job for taking a day off from work to bury him.  hu

The Ladinos, another group, came from a mountain village. They were looking for land and wanted to extend their power. They even brought papers for the indigenous to sign and lies about what the papers contained, which the indigenous could not read because they weren’t educated. She became prominent in the women's rights movement when still only a teenager. s/1992/tum-bio.html

 The Menchú family was also accused of taking part in guerrilla activities.  Her father Vincente was also accused of participating in the execution of a plantation owner, and was imprisoned and tortured.  We he was released, he founded Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC), which she also joined in  ureates/1992/tum-bio.html

 In this year, her other brother was arrested, tortured, and killed by the army.  The following year, her father was killed when security forces in the capital stormed the Spanish Embassy where he and some other peasants were staying.  Soon after, her mother also passed away after being arrested, tortured, and raped.  ureates/1992/tum-bio.html

 Rigoberta taught herself herself Spanish as well as several other Mayan languages  She also became even more active in the CUC.  The CUC was focusing on a strike to raise awareness about rights of farm workers on the Pacific coast.  ureates/1992/tum-bio.html

 On May 1 st, she was active in demonstrations in the capital.  She joined the radical 31st of January Popular Front, which meant she educated the Indian peasant population that was influenced by military oppression, like her family was.  The same year, she had to go into hiding, which later led to her fleeing to Mexico at the young age of 22.  ureates/1992/tum-bio.html

 When she arrived to Mexico, she reunited with some family members.  Indiginous leaders persuaded her to become a organizer against oppression in Guatemala and the struggle for Indian peasant peoples' rights.  She also traveled to Europe to work with the United Nations, where she recited the narrative that formed the basis for her first book, I, Rigoberta Menchú.  rigoberta/rigoberta_story.html

 Media began to follow her because they knew she was a top contender for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Rigoberta returned to Guatemala to participate in demonstrations around the 500 year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas.  An exert from her book, Crossing Borders, “I slept peacefully for a couple of hours, and was awoken by the telephone. My companeros had been up all night, drinking coffee. The journalists, shivering with cold, were waiting outside in their cars. I got up and went to answer. It was the Norwegian ambassador in Mexico. ‘In nine minutes,’ he said, ‘it will be announced that you have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Let me be the first to congratulate you.’”  /rigoberta_story.html

 She established her own foundation, the Rigoberta Menchú Foundation.  In1998 she received the Prince of Asturias Award.  In 2007, she even ran for president in Guatemala.  rigoberta/14.html