Diana Sarai Cisneros

Class of 2026

Faculty Advisors: Jonathan Rosa, Rebecca Tarlau

Peer Mentor: J. Rubén Díaz-Vásquez

Diana Cisneros, was born in Los Angeles, California into a family with deep roots in Mesoamerica. She grew up in Detroit and majored in linguistics at Michigan State University, where she became interested in language preservation and revitalization. After graduation, she continues working with various communities in Latin America on this endeavor. Diana took summer intensive K’iche’ classes through Tulane University’s Mayan Language Institute in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. She continues to take K’iche’ language classes with tat Alfonso Nolasco, one of the founders of the K’iche’ Linguistic Community of the Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala. 

In Ecuador, Diana co-founded Inka Shimi, the first Kichwa language school for all ages in Salasaka with Kichwa activist Micaela Jerez, and taught introductory Nawat to children in Texistepeque, El Salvador. Diana and her friends created an Instagram account called Kuri Winaq (Kuri means gold in Kichwa and Winaq means person in K’iche’). Through this account, they take great pride and joy in making content and creating media to share about their culture and language! 

Diana is committed to help keep Indigenous languages alive and will apply her knowledge to collaborate and create an archive with Desarrollo Sostenible Para Guatemala (DESGUA), using digital tools for community-driven language preservation for K’iche’ and other Maya languages in Guatemala to preserve and maintain our culture and language, including ancestral food, medicine, and oral traditions.

K'iche' Translation: 

Diana Cisneros xalax pa Los Angeles, California, necher xk’iy pa Detroit, Michigan. Xutijoj rib’ chech Linguistica pa ri nim tijob’al ub’i’ Michigan State University, jawije xcha’ u’k’u’x chech kik’asb’axik yey uya’ik kichuq’ab’il ri ajwaralib’ taq tzijob’al. Ri uxeta’il yey ri ralaxik ri Diana kpe pa ri ojer taq tinamit le k’o pa ri uk’u’x ri Abya Yala. K’a ruk’ ri xto’taj chech reta’manen pa nim tijob’al, umajim chak kuk’ jalajoj taq komon pa Abya Yala rech uya’ik kichuq’ab’il taq ri tzijob’al. Diana, xkoji’ pa taq tijonik rech tzijob’al K’iche’ pa saq’ijal pa Xelaju’, Paxil Kayala’ rumal ri Instituto de Lenguas Mayas de la Universidad de Tulane. Xaq are tajin kreta’maj K’iche’ ruk’ tat Alfonso Nolasco, jun chi kech ri xeti’kow ri Comunidad Linguistica K’iche’ rech ri Cholchi’ rech Paxil Kayala’.

Pa Ecuador, Diana xtob’an chech utikik Inka Shimi, Nab’e tijob’al rech tzijob’al Kichwa, jun tijob’al kuk’ ronojel kiwach taq winaq pa Salasaka, ruk’ ri jun ajpatan Kichwa Micaela Jerez, yey xuk’ut Nawat chi kech ak’alab’ pa Texistepeque, El Salvador. Ruk’ utab’anik Kuri Winaq (Kuri kraj kub’ij q’an pwaq pa Kichwa, Winaq kraj kub’ij winaq pa k’iche’), jun ajilab’al pa Instagram kitikom Diana kuk’ ri e utz taq ruk’. Ri are sib’alaj kuk’ul re ri kitikik taq kipan jopib’al rech ujub’axik uno’jbantajikil yey ri utzijob’al. Diana uya’om utzij chech ub’anik ri upatan rech kik’asb’axik ri ajwaralib’ taq tzijob’al.

Diana kraj kukoj ri reta’mab’al che kito’ik le tzob’aj kab’ix che pa kaxlan tzij Desarrollo Sostenible Para Guatemala (DESGUA) chech ub’anik jun k’olb’al jawije’ kkoj wi ri k’ak’a taq jastaq tajin kaq’alajin aq’anoq arech xa je ri’ kak’asb’ax uwach ri ajwaralib’ taq tzijob’al cher ya’om uchoq’ab’ rumal ri komon pwi ri tzijob’al k’iche’, nik’aj chik mayab’ tzijob’al ri k’o pa Paxil Kayala, rech kik’asb’axik yey kekoji’ ri no’jbantajikil ri utzijob’al, xuquje’ ri ojer taq wa’b’al, kunab’al yey ojer taq tzijob’al.