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Published: August 23rd 2006
The past week has been absolutely fabulous as I’ve got to spend a little more time exploring Chiapas, a state in Mexico that I fell in love with when I was teaching nearby years ago. Like I mentioned in the last blog, Chiapas has a large population of indigenous people, and most of these have Mayan heritages. Because of this, it seems to have more life, more history to me. All the people are so beautiful in their bright traditional clothing and warm smiles, and it’s fascinating to learn more about their customs and beliefs.
Unfortunately, Chiapas is also one of the poorest states in Mexico with some of the highest child mortality rates and illiteracy rates in the country. My Lonely Planet book on Mexico reports that a third of the houses in the state do not have running water. I’d be willing to bet that even fewer would have electricity. The thing that makes this situation even sadder is seeing how rich in resources the state is. There are huge tourist draws to the state with major archaeological sites and gorgeous mountains, jungles, cascades, and canyons to explore. It is lush as can be and has large coffee
and banana growing regions. Lonely Planet also says that Chiapas has gas and oil resources and abundant hydroelectric power. So why so poor, you might ask.
The situation is tricky to understand (and I was hoping to learn more about it myself this trip). But in a nutshell, the trouble is that most of the land has been taken out of the hands of the campesinos (local farmers) and indigenous people to whom it once belonged and now is run either through government monopolies (in the case of the power industries) or large companies with which the local farmer cannot compete.
This situation is nothing new, nor isolated to Chiapas (or to Mexico for that matter). But in my opinion, Chiapas has come into the spotlight largely due to the international attention brought by the Zapatistas. For those of you who may not have heard about the Zapatistas, they are a revolutionary group of indigenous people who decided to put their foot down and fight for social justice, indigenous people’s rights, and land reform. The Zapatistas entered the scene with a bang as they seized control of several towns in Chiapas in 1994 as their statement against the
signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement which basically has given the U.S. more leverage to exploit the cheap labor of Mexico and has done next to nothing to help anyone in Mexico except the already very wealthy. But this is just my opinion. A Mexican woman I spoke to on the Copper Canyon train thinks differently. She claims that the maquiladoras (large American corporations’ factories across the border in Mexico) have done a lot to help out all levels of the economy including the poor. Who knows?
Anyhow, back to the Zapatistas. The 1994 uprising was countered by the Mexican military and ended in the deaths of 150 people, mostly Zapatistas. The Zapatistas, led by their poetic anti-leader, Sub-Comandante Marcos (whose real identity is tough to confirm, although he is thought to be a liberal ex-professor), then turned to their most powerful weapon, the media, especially the internet. Since 1994, they’ve been gaining much international support and drawing a lot of attention to their cause. While in my eyes, this has not done a lot to affect the state of affairs in their dealings with the Mexican government, I wonder if the Zapatistas wouldn’t have mysteriously disappeared
if they hadn’t gotten so well-known globally. This international interest has also provided them new opportunities to earn money through tourism and the marketing of their name and image (through t-shirts, dolls, etc.) and in the more honorable channels of opening up avenues of trade with other indigenous groups in Latin America as well as with foreign markets (often through the ‘smuggling’ of products by activists, volunteers, and tourists into places like the U.S. for sale in hippie coffee stores, like the Spring Garden Bakery next to where Paul used to work in Greensboro where you can get yourself bags, t-shirts, and books of/about the Zapatistas straight from Chiapas).
While I’m trying to stay as neutral as possible, (despite having a major crush Subcomandante Marcos that made my knees all jelly-like when I heard him speak at a rally in 2001 even though I’ve never seen him balaclava-less) because I feel like I just don’t know enough to say what’s right or wrong. Overall, I’d have to say that the Zapatistas have done much more good than bad even if the only thing they have accomplished is bringing attention to their situation and others like them worldwide. I only
wish I would have spoken to some of the people more directly involved to learn more about the state of affairs while we were visiting here. Some of you might have heard me talking before we left all about how I was going to volunteer Paul to fix the Zapatistas’ trucks. Sadly that didn’t pan out so easily, but we’re still looking for places to volunteer down the road.
And we did learn lots and lots of interesting stuff about the Mayans living in the region today as we explored San Cristobal de las Casas, its museums, and some of the villages nearby.
One of the first places we went was to the Museum of Mayan Medicine so that we could learn a little about the herbal remedies and spiritual rituals that the Maya use/practice. One of the first things we saw was this fantastic booklet and poster about how bad Coca-Cola is for you (yes, I drink the stuff, and I know this makes me a hypocrite). I had read earlier that in some areas the Mayan healers encourage the use of Coca-Cola to promote burping which thus expels the evil spirits. I was not aware, however,
how the use of Coca-Cola was causing serious health problems among the Mayan people. I wanted to buy the booklet so I could read more about it, but they wanted $5 for it and it was kept behind a glass counter so I couldn’t even thumb through it. (Dad, I regretted not buying it for you as soon as I walked away.)
Also, at the museum we learned a little bit about the different types of shamans and healers. There are pulse readers who can tell what’s wrong with someone from feeling their pulse, and herbalists that know all about the different healing benefits of plants, and several others that I’ve now forgotten. At any rate, the use of candles, eggs, chickens, herbs, and soda (or sometimes something a little stiffer) are all commonly used to cure people of diseases and infirmities and to clean their souls.
And Paul got to experience this first hand. You see the museum has a healer who works there and is willing to meet with visitors to cure them of their ailments. Paul hadn’t decided if he wanted to participate in the rituals but after witnessing another tourist who was overjoyed to
be cured of some stomach pain, I practically shoved Paul at the shaman to have his own ongoing stomach problems healed.
The ritual lasted about ten minutes. First Paul had to kneel on the ground and make three rows of eleven thin taper candles each. Then while Paul lit each of these candles the healer began chanting and praying to the saints and the gods. I wish I could translate what was said, but much of it was in a Mayan dialect and I only recognized it when he said Paul’s name or referred to the United States (not sure what that was about—maybe he got confused and thought Paul was an American).
Anyhow, after several minutes of praying and addressing each of the several wooden replicas of saints dressed in brightly colored traditional Mayan textiles that were mounted around the room, Paul was asked to rise. The healer then continued chanting as he beat Paul about his body with a clump of basil leaves. Finally, the healer broke open an egg into a glass of soda pop. At this point, the healer began speaking to me in amazement about how much pain there had been and waving
me over to look into the glass. Here he pointed to a handful of largish bubbles which according to the healer man was the pain that he had excised from Paul’s abdomen. I quickly translated all of this to Paul who looked into the glass unimpressed. He hadn’t had the same luck as the first tourist, and his pain continued despite the egg and candles and basil thrashing. I think it’s because Paul was a nonbeliever, or maybe it was because the shaman called Paul an American. One of the two.
Also in San Cristobal we visited Na Bolom, a museum and foundation dedicated to helping the region’s indigenous people and the environment in which they live. Here we learned a lot more about Mayan culture and their beliefs. One of the most interesting things we learned needs a little background information first. From the first evening we arrived in San Cristobal two days earlier we had been audience to incessant blasts of fireworks at all hours of the day and night. I mean almost non-stop. These blasts in combination with an overachiever of a rooster next door did nothing to help us catch up on much needed sleep.
Paul and I had our own ideas on what the fireworks were for. Paul thought it was due to some unknown ongoing celebration. I thought perhaps people lit off fire crackers to honor folks on their birthdays. That or to cover up the sound of gun fire.
But, Pepe, our Na Bolom tour guide set us straight, and it turns out that we were both wrong. Many of the indigenous people in Chiapas believe that the idols of the saints in the churches are much too serious and that by lighting off the fireworks they are able to make the saints smile if only briefly. I don’t know if it really gets them to smile, but the fireworks have caused many traditional people to take another look at how they build their houses—opting for tin roofs instead of the old, more flammable palm frond style of roofing. And from there on out, every time Paul and I heard the booms and kebangs in the distance we couldn’t help but smile even when we were tossing and turning in bed.
Also through Na Bolom, we were able to take part in a tour to some nearby villages that still
practice more traditional lifestyles. Our day started off with a short walk through the countryside where we got to see how some of the NGOs have done a great job of helping the local land owners produce crops that our not only sustainable but profitable to boot. It’s great to see how volunteerism has helped the people of the Chiapas. Throughout the state I was amazed to see huge changes from when I was last there. Jungles have been reforested and farmers’ plots have been diversified. Now, everywhere you look something is growing and it isn’t just corn like I noticed before.
As we got nearer to the first village, Zinacantan, we quickly saw some of the more negative effects of the involvement of foreigners, especially tourists, on the area. Three beautiful little girls, all in traditional costumes approached us somewhat aggressively to have their pictures taken for a peso each. I had always heard that the Mayan people believed that to have your picture taken was to have your soul stolen and as such, I should be very careful about what or whom I was taking a picture of. When I questioned our guide about this, she informed
us that this wasn’t so much true as that many of the people were upset to see their faces on postcards and know that people were making money off of them and they were not.
Whatever the reason, it’s probably better to ask before snapping away and accidentally stealing someone’s soul. Or, if you’re being hassled to take a photo in exchange for a coin or two, you can decide whether you think this is a good thing to do or not. In the case of these girls, Paul and I crumbled and acquiesced. I just hope that our weakness isn’t helping to keep these pretty (and clever) girls from attending school because their cute grins make their families money.
Also in Zinacantan, we visited a home where they make and sell beautiful textiles. This place is a bit of a tourist spot, but you do get to watch them weave and try on the traditional clothing of the people of Zincantan and snap corny pictures of yourself. They also treat you to some hot fresh tortillas (which you get to watch them make) and delicious crumbly cheese—my favorite. It was a fun stop.
Our next stop
was in San Juan Chamula where the highlight of the tour was visiting the stunning village church, the Templo de San Juan. While the church was built in the 1520s by the Spanish, it is no longer consecrated as a Catholic church. Instead, the villagers practice a more traditional worship which has stolen bits and pieces from the Catholic faith, such as the reverence of many saints (who may or may not in fact represent personification of Mayan gods).
We were allowed to go inside the church and observe their way of worship first hand. It was an incredible experience. The floor of the dimly church is covered in pine needles where a dozen or more families were sitting together surrounded by candles of various colors taking part in rituals similar to the one Paul experienced the previous days. Healers were softly chanting with the family and herbs, eggs, and chickens were being utilized in the hope of getting rid of evil spirits, curing an ailment, or bringing more prosperity to the family.
Interestingly, the selling and recycling of candles and other articles necessary for the rituals is quite a lucrative business. A couple of men work clean
The old Catholic church of San Juan Chamula
The crosses in the yard represent the age a person was when they died: black ones for old people, white ones for young people, and blue ones for in between.up after each family finishes their prayers, scraping the paraffin off of the church floor to be reheated and made into more candles and collecting the little glass cups once the candles have burned down. A plastic grocery bag of paraffin shavings is worth five to six pesos and each glass brings in two pesos. If you calculate the eight to ten bags of wax and hundred or so glasses each man recycles a day, these “volunteers” of the church are making a pretty lively wage.
After the trip to the church, the rest of the afternoon was spent wandering the stalls of local artisans and admiring all of the beautiful shawls and blankets and shirts. As a matter of fact, this is what we did during most of our time in San Cristobal. In fact, it would be fair to say that we did little more than wander, eat, and shop during our time there. No wonder we’re both getting a little chunky in the middle.
Good thing that our next couple of stops involved a little exercise. We took a tour shuttle to the gorgeous turquoise waterfalls of Agua Azul and Misol Ha which are some
of my favorite places on earth and then on to Palenque to visit some of the most beautiful and impressive Mayan ruins. Since I have been to both falls and the ruins a couple of times (and because I don’t feel like writing), we thought it would be fun for Paul to tell about these places. So here goes:
The best way for us to get from San Cristobal to Paenque was as part of a tour to the Agua Azul and Misol Ha waterfalls. So on Friday at 6.30 in the morning we jumped into our little tour bus and headed out of town. Our little bus tuned out to be a bit of a let down, though. When we booked the trip a few days earlier, we were under the impression that we would be going in a small bus like the one shown in the brochure. Try 1970 Chevy van instead. The first problem was there was not enough room for us all and our bags. The backpacks were stacked up in the entrance and above our heads rolling into our necks every time the driver braked. Then the other problem was a can of gasoline
that had spilt under the seat at the back where we were sitting. The driver fixed the leaking gas can by stuffing it under the hood next to the hot engine. Needless to say we made it to our destination, but with a new appreciation of the Mexican buses.
Our stops at the two waterfalls were fantastic. The first, Agua Azul, is an absolute paradise with clear clear water gushing over a series of falls. The water seems to be high in calcium which has created a terrace of falls some wide with a low fall and some smaller with a long drop. At the bottom near the parking is a safe place to swim and cool off, and that’s just what we did. Regrettably, we only had 90 minutes and then we bundled back into the van to check out Misol Ha falls. And what a spectacular setting this is! In fact, it’s so good that Hollywood used it as part of the setting for the movie, Predator, with Arnie baby jumping over the falls. (Casey especially likes it because there is a pathway where you can walk behind the falls and then up a stairway with water
Misol-Ha Waterfall
This is the one that Arnie jumped off!! snaking down and into a cave with a small river—very pretty!)
After a sleepless night in the stinking hot town of Palenque, we headed off to the ruins about 8km away by mini bus. The place is just fantastic, and as we arrived there early we managed to have a look around with out a swarming mass of tourists fighting for position. It’s hard to describe the ruins of Palenque, any ruins in fact. Yes, they are beautiful and these ones are set in a wonderful jungle setting which most of us have seen pictures of or a documentary or two about. Having preconceived ideas of what you are about to see takes the surprise out of it a little, but it’s when you stop and sit there and start to let it all sink in, what was achieved by the builders of this great city, (over 500 buildings in 15 sq km and a population of 8000 people), what limited technology they had available to accomplish their tasks, and what must have motivated them to commit so many of their resources into erecting buildings with no practical purpose except to glorify themselves and honor their gods.
Palenque
The Temple of Inscriptions
The little burial plot one of Palenque's rulers had built for himself was a city built by the Mayan people who were and still are spread all over the area around Guatemala, Belize and southern Mexico. While the ancient Mayan city-states of this area were fiercely independent, they shared many common traits one of which was the system of recording events with hieroglyphics. Through further understanding of the hieroglyphics by archeologists we now know a lot more about the city’s history, especially the lives of the ruling class of Palenque.
Our trip to this wonderful ruined city was really just a wander around its many buildings and courtyards, taking photographs, stopping in a shady spot to eat cheese sandwiches, and following the paved trail through some thick jungle to view some of the ruins that still have vines and trees growing over, through, and around them. The trail with its beautiful pool and waterfall where Palenque’s queens used to bathe was my favorite part of the ruins. It made me imagine how the first European to be shown the ruins by Mayan hunters back in 1746 must have felt.
Thanks, Paul. I found myself being sucked into the magic and mystery of it all and heck, I’ve already seen it
all a couple of times. It’s just that cool!
Speaking of cool, we were anything but when we finished up our tour of the ruins. In a moment of genius, however, we decided to see if we couldn’t finagle our way into one of the fancier hotel’s pools back in town. A couple of pesos later (paid as admission, not a bribe—what kind of folks do you think we are?) we were relaxing in chaise lounges under the shade of a couple of mango trees alongside a beautiful pool. Suddenly Palenque wasn’t such a bad city to spend a couple of days in.
Maybe we’ll have similar luck in the next couple of hot, humid cities we pass through before hitting the beach. You’ll be the first to know.
P.S. Did I mention how much I love Mexican drinking chocolate? If only I could bring a case of it home. Mmmmm!
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Darwing
non-member comment
Wow
have u guys considered a career in writing?... I loved the details.. be safe and keep me posted... your mexican friend.