There are about 500 Paipai-speaking people. Little children still speak it, not learning Spanish until school age.
Every family is mixed and in each home several languages have always been spoken.
Pajaspuypayem people cannot marry other Pajspuypayem people. Paipai storyteller Benito Peralta , 1992. Photo by Natalie Fiocre. These Mexican bands of the Kumeyaay are close relatives of the San Diego Indians and maintain close personal relationships despite the presence of the international border.