Maruch Méndez Pérez is a weaver, healer, ritual advisor, poet, singer, painter, and ceramicist. She lives in San Juan Chamula in Chiapas, Mexico.
Diane Rus is a research fellow in the Instituto de Estudios Indígenas, Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas, San Cristóbal, Chiapas. Her research interests include Maya family economy, women's work, Maya migration to the United States, bilingual language education, and the history and work of mestizo women of San Cristóbal.