CHAPTER 2
 THE TWO ETHNIC GROUPS: MAYA AND LADINO IN GUATEMALA

 There are two main ethnic groups in Guatemala, the Maya and the Ladinos. The dualistic

construction of ethnicity in Guatemala has provoked anthropological interest for decades,

resulting in numerous studies of ethnic identity formation and ethnic relations. Though recent

work in Eastern Guatemala (Moran-Taylor 2003, Little-Siebold 2001) attempts to revise the

fixed dualistic assumptions of ethnicity in Guatemala, "aspects of identity such as socio-

economic status, economic activity, conceptualizations of race, culture, gender, and generational

differences are subsumed and elided by this dichotomy" (Little-Siebold 2002:178). This research

conducted in the Eastern Highlands of Guatemala explores how Maya and Ladinos experience

race, ethnicity, and gender, and how under transnational migration Guatemalans either preserve

or transcend ethnic categories that have historically maintained Guatemala's social structure.

 The Maya in Eastern Guatemala, the subjects of this research, are a relatively small

population that is less well-known to academics and Guatemalans alike than the larger

populations of Maya in other areas. The Ladinos in this region are seen as the dominant and

ruling group. A review of the definitions and debates surrounding Maya-Ladino ethnic labels

provides a basis for understanding how Guatemalans themselves relate to the dual model of

Maya-Ladino ethnicity. This study discusses variations in the Guatemalan dualistic model of

classification and how migration impacts an already diverse and varied population. This chapter

specifically looks at who the Maya and Ladinos are and how Guatemalans in the Eastern region

of Guatemala improvise with the dual classification model categories, dependent on whether

they are Ladino or Maya and regional constructions of ethnicity based on beliefs about family

ancestry.