Manuel Jesus Chulin Teh

Location: Ticul

Occupation: Taxi Driver

Sr. Teh is a 48-year-old taxi driver in the beautiful city of Ticul. He was born in the small village of Chapab, just east of Ticul and moved to Ticul when he was ten years old. He says he did not mind moving with his family to a new town and has no bad memories of the event. He has three brothers and one sister.

Manuel is married and has a ten-year-old son. He has been a taxi driver in Ticul for 15 years and also works as a Camposino. He says Ticul has very good soil for growing but there isn't much opportunity to find work there.

He used to build houses and has experience with traditional Mayan building techniques.

Manuel speaks fluent Mayan and Spanish. When he was young, he had to quit school after six years to work in the fields. This is the biggest regret in his life because he was unable to get an education. In order to better himself he uses whatever means available to him. He likes to read newspapers and has a color TV but stresses that he primarily watches news programs and educational TV.

He owns his own house but does not have a telephone, which he would really like to have. He is extremely proud of his Mayan heritage.