After 20 years of promoting her Yucatan culture, Beatriz Ceballos Poot will receive the 2022 Ohtli Award for her work in Canada.
As Mexico celebrates its independence, Ceballos Poot will be honored with Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ highest award.
Ceballos Poot first came to Canada after graduating from Conalep in Merida. Four months later, she decided to emigrate. Today she resides in Gatineau, in the southeast of French-speaking Québec and on the banks of the Ottawa River.
In Canada, she works teaching Mexican culture and traditions such as traditional dances and festivals like Hanal Pixán, when the Mayan people remember the dead.
In addition, Ceballos Poot is part of the Aztlán Folkloric Ballet, which is responsible for promoting traditional dances in countries such as Italy, Switzerland, Austria, France, Poland and Spain.
She recently returned to her native Yucatan to invite local authorities to be present during the Ohtli 2022 awards ceremony.
Ohtli recognition is given to Mexicans, Latinos or their foreign-born descendants who dedicate their time to benefit the Mexican community in any field of human endeavor.
Ohtli is a recognition given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Institute for Mexicans Abroad. It consists of a silver medal, a silver rosette and a diploma that the IME awards through the Mexican Representations Abroad. The ceremony is on September 15.
In Canada, after English and French, Spanish is the most widely used language due to the large presence of immigrants who have come to this region from Latin America.
