Community and Partner Organizations
The Bay Area Maya Festival is made possible through deep collaborations with the following community organizations
Acción Latina
Acción Latina is the fiscal sponsor that formalizes the festival’s organizational infrastructure.
City College of San Francisco (CCSF
CCSF’s Mission Campus — located in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District — has provided the festival’s venue and audiovisual resources free of charge since the very first festival. The college’s commitment to the Mission community makes it the natural home of the festival.
Asociación Mayab
Led by Executive Director Lydia Candilia Chan, Asociación Mayab aims to create conditions for the optimal development of the Yucatec Maya community in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization’s folkloric group and dress parades are among the most beloved elements of the festival each year.
MEDA (Mission Economic Development Agency)
MEDA is dedicated to uplifting Latinos in San Francisco’s Mission District, offering housing, financial empowerment, and educational programs. MEDA serves as the festival’s fiscal sponsor, and its housing workshops and community resource tables are a cornerstone of every festival
Instituto Familiar de la Raza (IFR)
The Instituto Familiar de la Raza (IFR) supports the Bay Area Maya Festival as a local partner organization that collaborates on the event’s planning and execution. Their involvement is primarily facilitated through the Indigenous Health and Wellness Program (IHWC), which works to improve the well-being of Maya and Indigenous families in San Francisco by increasing their access to social services and fostering emotional and spiritual healing
Latino Task Force
What started as a small volunteer effort—Respuesta Latina to COVID-19—has grown into a powerful collaboration. Today, LTF brings together 13 committees, 35+ community-based organizations, city partners, and key stakeholders to drive meaningful change. With a focus on community engagement, accountability, and collective action, they are dedicated to uplifting Latino, Black, and Pacific Islander communities, along with all residents of San Francisco. Together, they are creating a more inclusive and equitable future.
Maya Woman in Art
Founded and directed by Rita Moran, Maya Women in Art promotes the dignity and human rights of Indigenous and Latina women by presenting contemporary Maya art. The organization has curated the festival’s art exhibits since 2019, including works by internationally recognized Maya painters and photographers.
Voces Maya & East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
Voces Maya is the Indigenous outreach team of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a Berkeley-based organization providing free legal and social services to low-income immigrants. Their storytelling workshops and oral history programming give voice to the experiences of Maya people who have fled their homelands and built new lives in the Bay Area.
Amplify Sanctuary Voices
An oral history project that amplifies the voices of people forced to flee their homelands and seek sanctuary in the United States. Their presence at the festival has been a powerful reminder of the human stories behind immigration.
Movimiento Cultural de la Unión Indígena (MCUI)
Based in Napa County, MCUI brings together the diasporic community of Oaxaca, Mexico, including Chatino, Mixteco, and Zapoteco immigrants. The festival’s collaboration with MCUI reflects its broader mission of building solidarity across all Indigenous communities in California.
Radio B’alam
The only Mam-language radio station in the Bay Area, Radio Bʼalam gives voice to the Guatemalan Maya community in Oakland and the wider region.