Adventures in Chiapas, Mexico

My family recently went to Mexico to celebrate the marriage of my son, Jonah and his bride, Alondra. Alondra's mom, Norma planned an amazing 10 day trip for us. I learned a ton and loved it all! Chiapas is the state in Mexico that touches Guatemala. It is the home of magical cities San Cristobal, Teopisca, and Comitán.

Waterfalls such as Misol Ha and Aquas Azueles were beautiful. We also visited El Chiflon and went zip-lining over Angel Falls there. Other touristy sightseeing included shopping at the markets of San Cristobal, taking a boat tour of the Canñon del Sumidero, climbing the pyramids of Palenque, and visiting the zoo in Tuxela Gutierras.

The wedding party itself was a cultural experience with customs such as burning incense, beating on a drum, and joining the couple with loops of beads. All of our clothes were hand made to fit our measurements. The white shirts and black dresses were hand embroidered and even the buttons were handmade from amber. The reception included a mariachi band and folk dancers. The bouquet toss was more active as the bride stood on a chair, the groom holding the veil out behind her, and all the single ladies dancing under the veil and around as the bride would wave the bouquet before tossing it. The person who caught it would return it to the bride and she'd continue to toss it again and again for the duration of the song. There was no garter toss (thankfully) but the men did carry the groom around on his back to the death march (funny) and then toss him in the air. RIP single days.

The Temple of the Inscriptions: largest Mesoamerican stepped pyramid

Palenque is a Mayan archeological site with more than 1,000 structures. Thankfully it wasn't at all crowded when we went, but unfortunately it was very hot. My friend, Norma took us into the shade of the woods where there were lots of ruins. There is also a small museum with air conditioning in a small part where the red queen's jewelry is on display. Her tomb, which was found through the closest doorway in this picture in this picture, was filled with red powder.

We got up early on a Saturday morning to go to Chamula, where a one-of-a-kind church was packed with worshipers. The indigenous people have beliefs that seem to be a marriage of their Mayan ancestors and the Catholic Conquistadores who came in the1500s. The dates on the church are 1522-24. The floors are marble but they are covered with pine straw. Pine is considered sacred and pine branches also adorn headstones in cemeteries to help the deceased draw closer to heaven. the walls of the church are lined with glass cases with a sculpture of a saint in each one. Authorities from the community represent each saint after proving they can afford the position (10's of thousands of dollars must be in their bank account), since they will be providing the feasts in honor of their saint. Some wait many years for the honor. Large bouquets of yellow flowers were placed before the saints, and then candles in front of those. It seemed like the main room had about 10 large tables on each side of the room and about 200 burning candles on each one. 

There are no pews or chairs, so worshipers clear pine needles to melt their own tapered candles to the floor for their personal worship. Some had 20, some had 70, placed in neat rows of white and green, or white with green and red stripes, each candle representing a requested favor or blessing. There were probably 6 or 7,000 candles total. At the very end of the church I could hear quiet snipets of instrumental Christmas songs playing: Silent Night, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolf the Rednose Reindeer. A narrow aisle was made to walk in one side and out another, although when once we had entered both aisle were used bu authorities playing accordions, guitars and maracas. They were playing mariachi music on the square in front of the church when we came out. These were men in jeans, cowboy boots, and hats with belts holding sheepskin vests in place.  Women wear skirts of black sheep skin, which cost $250 to $500 each. They may only own two skirts. The Chamulas don't go to the doctors for illness, only serious injury. When they are sick, they go to the church, offering eggs for minor ailments and chickens for serious illnesses. A hen for a woman and a rooster for a man is sacrificed by breaking the chickens neck. I could see a woman moving the animal around the man kneeling beside her. They don't eat the chicken, but burry it later. We came at a busy time as it was very crowded; we kept moving, trying not to stare.  The sick have a shot of Coke (for the carbonation), and a shot of Pox, a local moonshine made from corn, then they burp up the bad spirit or sickness. I felt like an anthropologist or time traveler, who stepped back in time. The four people in my family were the only white people we saw in the whole town. No pictures are allowed inside.

Because we had connections with the locals (technically we're related now), we got some seriously authentic experiences that most tourists would miss. One was a dinner invite by a friend/employee of the bride's aunt. He'd caught and killed a couple of feral chickens and his mom made a traditional soup with them and home grown veggies, in a big pot, over a fire in her semi-outdoor kitchen. She grows flowers and food and once made 3,000 tamales for a catering job.

We were also offered a temezcal experience by a friend of a friend. This is a sweat lodge ritual which almost ended when the Conquistadores knocked down all of these dome buildings, but the indigenous people built more, hidden in the rainforest to preserve their tradition. I'm very good at avoiding anything that give me bad vibes (which it probably would have if conducted by a shaman) or dangerous (which this can be if someone isn't trained), and I was also worried about being claustrophobic. But this nice health-enthusiast, told us we could leave at any point if we felt at all uncomfortable. Basically it was a sauna with herbs such as camomile and lavender. Volcanic rocks were heated in a fire, outside the building. 15 of us each took flowers into the lodge and sprinkled the petals around the pit. Water on the coals created steam; we all sweat a lot. The leader offered us water to rinse our faces, and led us in a chance to give thanks, smile at the person across from us...all good things. I think the whole thing took 40 minutes which was probably my max. It felt great to swim in the spring water pool afterwards and my skin never felt so soft.

Our final dinner in Mexico was at my friend's coffee plantation, on which she also grows mango, banana, pepper, roots, etc. We used a machete to clear a space. Tia Elizabeth cooked carne asada over a fire. We carried water in and out of this tropical paradise. Dozens of parrots flew overhead as we left. I feel so blessed to get to see the world and learn about cultures, food, and histories other than my own.