After a few days in the jungle I returned to San Cristopal ready to give her another chance. I spent four days in the city and loved it. I was heavily educated on the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional (Zapatista National Liberation Army) who on January 1st, 1994 occupied San Cristópal and several other cities in Chiapas. What has ensued is more then a decade of unrest in Chiapas between the EZLN and the Mexican Government. The EZLN have been fighting to bring awareness and change to the terrible living conditions of Mexician indigenous populations. (for more info visit http://www.ezln.org.mx/)
I also visited the beautiful headache of a village San Juan Chamula. The people are Tzotzil and wear traditional clothing. The village is known for its Sunday markets and its church Templo de San Juan. When I entered there were three medicine workers preforming rituals at the time... one of which was blessing someone with a dead chicken (it is also common to see them preforming rituals with bones and eggs) There are dozens of saints in the church with mirrors hanging around their necks and San Juan Bautista is in the center of the alter (he is whorshipped over Christ). Pine needles litter the floor and there are hundreds of candles lit all over the church.... I personally killed some prayers when I absent mindedly stepped on a row of them.(luckily the surrounding pine needles and my pants did not go up in flames)
Now I am on my way back to Oaxaca... I spent the night in Tuxtla Gutierrez and today went to the Canon del Sumidero and saw my first alligator in the wild. The Canyon was beautiful and the boat ride was amazing. Legends have it that when Diego de Mazariegos invaded the area hundreds of the indigenous Chiapa jumped to their death into the canyon. Off to Oaxaca.
Bisou
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