John and Jenny Fulton

Real International Princesses: Princess Clara of the Mayan “Daughter of the King” Pageant

By Jenny Fulton

Introduction

My book, An International Princess Alphabet Primer, features princesses from countries and cultures around the world. Each character is named after a real person. These are their stories.

Because the alphabet book was written for young kids, the biographies I’m sharing are short, child-friendly, often rose-tinted summaries.

G: Guatemalan Princess Clara

Flag Image by jorono from Pixabay; Map and Flag Image by Kjrstie from Pixabay; Guatemalan Woman Image by ChanoValentín from Pixabay

Guatemalan Princess Clara is named for Candaleria Coquix, a participant in Guatemala’s annual Mayan “Daughter of the King” pageant.

In school, we often learn about the ancient Mayan civilization that spread across Central America. What many people don’t know is that more than 7 million Mayans still live in the same area as their ancestors. Many of them reside in Guatemala and make up 51% of that nation’s population.

Every year, Mayan towns across the country hold a Princess pageant. The girls wear traditional Mayan clothing and take turns speaking in their native language about a topic related to their culture. The winner in each town travels to the capital city of Coban to participate in the nation-wide Rabin Ajau, the “Daughter of the King” competition. This is more than just a beauty contest because it focuses on the contestants’ intelligence, cultural knowledge, and leadership skills.

Candaleria Coquix, whose nickname is Clara, was one of those Princesses. She grew up in a small village and was a curious child. She was also very dependable. From an early age, Clara helped her mom take care of her younger brothers and sisters and did many of the household chores. One of her favorite jobs was weaving. By the time she was a teenager, Clara was well-known for her skilled and creative designs.

Clara attended a Catholic school. When she was a teenager, she was invited to be a contestant in her town’s Princess Pageant. The judges were especially impressed with her speaking ability and crowned her the new Princess of San Lucas Tolimán.

In July of that year, Clara traveled to the big city for the Rabin Ajau. She made it into the top ten, but another girl was given the title of “Daughter of the King.” Whatever Clara is doing now, it’s likely she never forgot this experience.

Images by Cindy Parks, Herney Gómez, and david diaz from Pixabay

Other Princess Bios

Works Sited

Janson, Thor. “Maya Princesses” Revue Magazine; July 10, 2014. https://www.revuemag.com/maya-princesses/

“Rabin Ajaw: the Quest to find the Daughter of the King” Mayamam Weavers; Sept. 7, 2018. https://www.mayamamweavers.com/blogs/our-blog/rabin-ajaw-daughter-of-the-king

Sabene, Kerstin. “Rab’in Ajaw: Celebrating Maya Women as Agents of Change” Cultural Survival; June 3, 2019. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/rabin-ajaw-celebrating-maya-women-agents-change

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