María del Carmen Tun Cho was the first Guatemalan Maya to run the Los Angeles Marathon

When this Sunday the starting signal for the Los Angeles Marathon has come María del Carmen Tun Cho She felt won when she became the first Guatemalan Maya to participate in one of the most important tests in the United States.

"Participating is for me a triumph because I was able to teach that a woman can do a lot of things if she proposes it"he told the agency EFE Tun Cho, shortly before going on the 26-mile course, the same course that ended in 4:47:22 and that led him to cross the finish line with 6,919 places in the standings and 1,905 among women, according to official results. of the marathon.

Wearing a colorful traditional costume and a pair of caitas, as the sandals used by the Mayan Indians are known, Tun Cho started the race convinced that her crusade to open women's doors is already bearing fruit.

And have hundreds of his compatriots and other nationalities approached the indigenous athlete to support their participation and applaud their efforts.

With more than 24,000 athletes from all statesand from more than 60 countries, the 34th edition of the Los Angeles Marathon has been the perfect platform for Guatemalans. of the community q eqchi"He would make his message heard," he says.

"Women have a lot to give, regardless of age, race or origin, whether in the country or in the city", he explains apologetically for his limited spanish.

This mother of six children began practicing athletics three years ago when she competed in the Ak Wank race, a competition that is being held in Guatemala in order to claim the women's rights.

After having climbed in 2018 with the first place in the Master category of this competition, the Guatemalan he knew that he had to carry the message of "empowering women" as much as possible and he soon did it outside his home country, while last year he also participated in a marathon in the Basque Country (Spain).

Los Angeles activists like Teófilo Barrientos and Otto Barrios, among others, have decided to support Tun Cho to transmit his message to this city, where many Guatemalans live, which is the third largest immigrant community in the United Statesafter that of Mexicans and Salvadorans.

Tun Cho, a native of the community of Raxk Nacimiento, Raxruhá, Alta Verapaz, said that the household chores of his house and the countryside left him little time to train. However, the cause has become a project that her children, grandchildren and husband support, because, he says, "the defense of women must be a job for the whole family ".

During the tour, which extends from the Dodgers Baseball Stadium to the city of Santa Monica, compatriots and volunteers were deployed to various locations along the route with the Guatemalan flag and posters with messages to name of Aboriginal women and Aboriginal women. migrants

"We must always keep in mind that women have the same rights as men and that we should be treated equally, we must strive to achieve this equality.he stressed.