Maxcanú honors Aracely Cab Cumí, Yucatán's first Maya deputy

The collective ‘Ya No Somos Invisibles’ has installed a commemorative plaque in Maxcanú, Yucatán, to honor Aracely Cab Cumí. The tribute, part of a project recognizing influential Yucatecan women, was placed in a public passage near the municipal palace to mark the International Day of Indigenous Women.

Cab Cumí, born in 1932, was the first woman of Maya origin to serve as a deputy in the Yucatán Congress. Her career began with literacy campaigns and local political organizing, leading to her election as a municipal councilor in 1967. In 1975, she became a deputy for District V and represented her community at United Nations conferences during the International Year of Women.

Throughout her life, she held leadership roles in the National Peasant Confederation (CNC) and focused on social and economic development for Maya communities. In 1994, she founded the civil association ‘Kaxan-Alabolal’ to continue defending indigenous peoples and women's rights. She was also a writer who documented her identity as a Maya woman.