Xela (Quetzaltenango)

Kirsti and Nick, you were right San Simón or in your case Maximón is the bizarrest thing ever. In Zunil close to Quetzaltengango (or Xela how the locals call it) we visited a “saint” called San Simon who is worshiped by the indigenous Mayan people (in this region Quiché people). He, San Simón (or in other regions they call him Maximón or Ry Laj Man) is assumed to be a combination of Mayan god, Pedro Alvarado (the Spanish conquistador of Guatemala) and the biblical Judas. The Quiché people go there to make offerings in form of cigarettes, rum, candles or sometimes even chickens. A Mayan priest receives them and initiates the ceremony. He speaks to San Simon, gives him some rum to drink, some cigarette to smoke and is asking for whatever blessing the Quiché person or family was asking for. By the way, San Simon is a puppet out of plastic with glasses and mustache, maybe trying to reproduce the image of Pedro Alvarado. The ceremony goes on. The priest keeps speaking to San Simon in Quiché language and takes a sip of some holy offering liquid which he spits over the people who are asking for blessings. We were able to see all this and stayed until they came forward with a chicken. We left before any blood shedding happened.

How bizarre is that?

Sabrina