On Friday – Good Friday – we get up early to take a tour of the two indigenous villages of San Juan Chamula and Zinacantán. The tour – run by Alex and Raul - assembles at the cross in front of the main Cathedral at . Good Friday is supposed to be an especially active day in both towns. There are no reservations for the tour. People who want to take the tour just show up. The cost is 175 pesos per person.
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| Caesar and the tour group outside Chamula |
The tour starts in San Juan Chamula, about a 15-minute drive outside of town. We had taken this type of tour 17 years ago, led by Mercedes Hernandez Gomez. She is no longer running tours. We ask Caesar about her. He says she stopped giving tours a a few years ago. She is living in
In Chamula, Caesar first assembles us at the cemetery above the town. He then leads us into the heart of the village. He explains the customs of the village – both social and spiritual. We proceed to the market area, visit their jail (prisoners are on public view to all) and then over to the church.
Since it is Good Friday, they have hung (literally, by a rope and noose) their own representation of Judas above the entrance to the church. He is dressed in a western style clothes; his pants are unzipped to expose his penis. Not something that would win the hearts of theCatholic Church
The square in front of the church is crowded. The civic leaders - dressed in white fur jackets and carry walking sticks - gather in groups outside the church. Chamula women, clued into the latest local fashion craze, wander through the square dressed in black fur skirts. Cloth-skirts are so-o-o-o last year!
We are then taken to a spiritual leader’s home. They usually rent a house in town for the year. (Civic leaders are chosen for 3-year stints.) The house contains an altar. Donations are their primary source of income during their 12-month term. The floor is covered in pine needles (replenished every week); the altar decorated with bromeliads, replaced four times a year.
Caesar reminds us of some of the eerie similarities between the Mayan beliefs and the Catholic religion: the Mayans used rounded-end crosses (representing a sacred tree) before the Spanish conquest; the Mayans believed in many gods, the Catholics in many saints, etc.
After visiting the spiritual leader's house, we are given some free time in the market before leaving for Zinacantán.
In Zinacantán, we first visit the home of a local weaver and then on to the church.
The service at the church is just ending. Many villagers are assembled outside, waiting for the afternoon procession. The men and women have donned flowered, purple-hued vests and blouses. The men appear to be wearing western style clothing underneath their vests. A version of Judas is also dangling above their entrance. No penis visible on this one.
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| Chamula Church |
Since it is Good Friday, they have hung (literally, by a rope and noose) their own representation of Judas above the entrance to the church. He is dressed in a western style clothes; his pants are unzipped to expose his penis. Not something that would win the hearts of the
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| Judas, unzipped |
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| Civic Leaders |
We are then taken to a spiritual leader’s home. They usually rent a house in town for the year. (Civic leaders are chosen for 3-year stints.) The house contains an altar. Donations are their primary source of income during their 12-month term. The floor is covered in pine needles (replenished every week); the altar decorated with bromeliads, replaced four times a year.
Caesar reminds us of some of the eerie similarities between the Mayan beliefs and the Catholic religion: the Mayans used rounded-end crosses (representing a sacred tree) before the Spanish conquest; the Mayans believed in many gods, the Catholics in many saints, etc.
After visiting the spiritual leader's house, we are given some free time in the market before leaving for Zinacantán.
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| Weaver's home |
The service at the church is just ending. Many villagers are assembled outside, waiting for the afternoon procession. The men and women have donned flowered, purple-hued vests and blouses. The men appear to be wearing western style clothing underneath their vests. A version of Judas is also dangling above their entrance. No penis visible on this one.
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| Zinacantan |
This tour is just as fascinating and informative as our first tour. Caesar strives to make you understand their world - and not judge it based on our own cultural norms.
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As we return to town it begins to rain. And then rain harder. Streets in the lower, western edge of town have become rivers.
We duck into TierrAdentro (Calle Real de Gaudalupe 24 - a walking street) for a light lunch. The place is packed. Many gringos. Gringos with laptops. (There is free wi-fi here.) The Zapatista-affiliated restaurant is in a covered courtyard - ringed with small shops. One, run by a women's cooperative, carries an excellent assortment of weavings and other crafts. We eat and wait out the rain.
Back at the hotel, a couple of hours later, Ross is not feeling well. It must have been from some of the aguadente drink he sampled in Zinacantán. He is spending half his time in the bathroom, the other half shivering in bed. I can only hope it will pass - quickly.
As we return to town it begins to rain. And then rain harder. Streets in the lower, western edge of town have become rivers.
We duck into TierrAdentro (Calle Real de Gaudalupe 24 - a walking street) for a light lunch. The place is packed. Many gringos. Gringos with laptops. (There is free wi-fi here.) The Zapatista-affiliated restaurant is in a covered courtyard - ringed with small shops. One, run by a women's cooperative, carries an excellent assortment of weavings and other crafts. We eat and wait out the rain.
Back at the hotel, a couple of hours later, Ross is not feeling well. It must have been from some of the aguadente drink he sampled in Zinacantán. He is spending half his time in the bathroom, the other half shivering in bed. I can only hope it will pass - quickly.
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| Front of El Punto Restaurant |
I complete the evening with a great meal at Pizzeria El Punto. There are two branches in the city. I eat the homey branch located on Calle Comitan near the Plaza El Cerillo. Terrific, thin-crust brick oven pizzas and unusual salad combinations. My pizza - a siciliana? - costs about 110 pesos. They have another location on Real de Guadalupe but this one is quiet, small and charming. It also looks like local - not gringo - favorite.
After dinner I try to find the Good Friday Silent Procession. No luck. It had been too rainy in the late afternoon and evening. It is very difficult to get information about Semana Santa celebrations in this town. You would hardly know it is Easter Week. Unexpected for a Latin American country.
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