Radio B'alam is a streaming audio program reaching thousands of Mayan Guatemalans in the Bay Area who speak a language called Mam. The name of the show translates to Radio Jaguar, a historical reference to the Mam king who led his people up a mountain to escape Spanish invaders.
The program's 27-year-old founder Henry Sales says his show's name and the historical reference are appropriate.
"Hopefully, that's what we're going to do — we're going to save some of our people and guide them to the right direction," he says.
According to Sales, over the past 40 years, an estimated 18,000 Mayan Mam-speakers fleeing poverty and violence in Guatemala have found a home in the great San Francisco Bay Area. Many live in Oakland's Fruitvale neighborhood. The United Nations has described some of the violence there as acts of genocide against indigenous people at the hands of U.S.-backed governments.
Now, Sales says members of his community, also called Mam like the language they speak, face yet another threat: the pandemic.
"When COVID came many of my friends lost their jobs. Many of them were going out, looking for a job," he says.