In Guatemala the stereotypic dichotomy that distinguishes Maya from ladino is often linked to cultural and social discrimination and a system of racial ranking. This paper demonstrates the construction of the dichotomy of ladino vs. Indian, and double bind ideologies reflected in discourses about Maya. Specifically, I analyze racializing and ethnicizing discourses about Mayan Indians in Guatemala. Racializing discourse makes boundaries among groups in natural terms, whereas ethnicizing discourse makes boundaries in cultural terms. Mayan Indians try to break with the stigmatized ethnic past, but they assign “true” Mayaidentity to their nostalgic past. Projecting Ladinos' dichotomous ideology between primitive vs. cultural onto Mayas double-bound identities, Mayans produce discourses of denial of Maya and nostaliga. The stereotypic dichotomy erases the differences among Mayan Indians, creating a homogeneous group. In conclusion, Maya-ness includes both negative and positive aspects that result in the state of double bind; one is low class and the other valorized authenticity. I argue that the coexistence of racializing and ethnicizing discourses regarding Maya identity reflects the ethnoracial stratification in Guatemala and it is reproduced in Mayan Indians' self-perception.