When Rigoberta Menchú was born, in 1959 in Chimel, she expected to lead a similar kind of life to those she saw around her in the Guatemalan highlands: hardship, labour on the land, family, love and giving life to the next generation. At just five years old, she began working on coffee plantations, like many of the adults and children of her community. Things didn’t quite go that way: Menchú would go on to become the first Indigenous woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

When Menchú was growing up, her father, a land rights activist, and her mother, a traditional midwife, both faced persecution for their advocacy. In the late 1970s, she joined the Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC), a group advocating for Indigenous farmers' rights — which her father was a part of — and her involvement led to increased scrutiny by the Guatemalan military regime of her work and her family’s. In 1981, after the brutal killing of her brother and the death of her mother under suspicious circumstances, Menchú fled to Mexico, where she found refuge and continued her advocacy.

Menchú's 1983 autobiography, I, Rigoberta Menchú, is considered an important text in the testimonio genre, and attracted international attention to the plight of Guatemala's Indigenous peoples. The book was translated into multiple languages. In 1992, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in promoting Indigenous rights and ethno-cultural reconciliation.

Her work didn’t stop there: she continued to funnel her fight into advocacy globally. She has addressed the United Nations, participated in international tribunals, and served as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. In 1996, she founded the Rigoberta Menchú Tum Foundation, which aims to preserve language and culture in Indigenous communities as well as increase health and education outcomes. Her life’s work underscores how impact like hers can reverberate far beyond the life she once imagined — from a rural Guatemalan village to millions on a global stage.