Popular theatre as an experience of cultural reappropriation and continuity in a Mayan community in Yucatán, Mexico

This article reflects on an educational research experience conducted with children in a Mayan community in Yucatán, Mexico. It examines how participants transformed a popular theatre initiative to amplify their voices, affirm cultural identity, and cultivate a sense of collective belonging. The study first positions the popular as a theoretical, methodological, and political stance underpinning the theatre proposal. It then situates the research within its local context, outlining the social, cultural, and historical conditions that shaped the experience. Drawing on a narrative account of a popular theatre workshop, the article traces processes of cultural reappropriation and continuity as they emerged through collective creation. The findings indicate that popular theatre functioned as a shared space for identity reconfiguration, where local knowledge was legitimized and traditional roles of participation were redefined. In this way, theatre became a tool for co-creating inherited stories while interweaving them with contemporary experiences. Through these processes, Indigenous children and adolescents reclaimed creative, narrative, and action-oriented leadership. The study demonstrates that popular theatre not only strengthens Indigenous children’s cultural identities but also transforms the ways knowledge is constructed and transmitted within historically marginalized contexts.