Visitors Welcome!

Through the duration of our trip we have extended an invitation to any of you who would like to join us. Well, we've been taken up on our offer! Sonja, a fellow anthropologist who is working on her Master's thesis on health care in Chiapas, has come to increase her Spanish skills along with collect data for her research. We have kept her entertained by showing off our favorite places around town after she gets out of school in the afternoons. We have taken her to our project at the orchid preserve, hiked the local trails, visited the cemetery, eaten affordable meals, and experienced daily San Cristobal life. We also visited the Sergio Castro Museum, where Mr. Castro himself gave us a tour of his collection of regional outfits he has collected over the years. He has received them as gifts for his humanitarian work such as healing burn victims and other commendable acts.

There is truly never a dull moment in this mountain town such as the daily fireworks and water trucks chiming their catchy tunes up and down the streets, and the recurring parades celebrating momentous Catholic holidays. This last week San Cristobal celebrated the Three Kings that are said to have visited Jesus of Nazareth's birth. Each king was seated on a replica of his own unique animal (horse, camel, elephant) which was mounted on a truck. According to the biblical story, each king held his own gift for the boy king (gold, frankincense, myrrh). The gift giving was replicated by the people on the floats who gave gifts to the children in the crowd. Yet the holiday has had some additional flair inserted over the years. A special sweet bread is sold in mass quantities at all the local bakeries in town. A wreath shaped fruit filled turnover symbolizes the long journey of the kings to find their destination. Traditionally coins were baked into the cake, but recently this tradition has been altered in a peculiar way. Tiny plastic baby Jesus figurines can be found within the layers of fruit and sweet bread. From what we understand the finder of the baby Jesus has to provide a party and food for their family on February 2nd. We had a great time watching flat-bed trucks covered in brown construction paper as they drove by with makeshift floats of the traveling kings in their beds. We also were fortunate enough to be given several of the miniature baby Jesus figurines as keepsakes to remember how this holiday is celebrated. All of this excitement will surely be missed when we have to leave this magnificent place. It has been said that the highlands of Chiapas is one of the most heavily studied areas by anthropologists in all of Mexico. A joke within the anthropology world is, "Every home here has a mother, a father, and an anthropologist." This fascination and reason for such extensive research is understandable.

There are many distinctly unique cultural regions surrounding San Cristobal, and we were given possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be invited to a traditional Catholic wedding being held by a Mayan family in Zinacantan. Zinacantan is a small town about 25 minutes away from San Cristobal. The people who have inhabited this region for generations speak Tzotzil and are famous for their flower growing. Men traditionally tend to large flower gardens in sophisticated greenhouses. The people of Zinacantan have incorporated flowers into their cultural identity. Traditional clothing for the women from this region is a shawl that goes over the shoulders, is tied in the front by tassles, and is beautifully designed with purples, greens, and reds in the form of sparkly flowers. Their long ankle length black skirts often have similar patterns displayed on them. The men also wear this pattern on a knit overshirt and is equally as vibrant and colorful as the women. Small children can be seen dressed as miniature versions of their parents in and around town.

Sonja has been taking Spanish lessons through Casa en el Arbol, a language school created by the founder of the volunteer organization we worked with, Natate. One of the Spanish instructors happened to be invited to the Zinacantan wedding by the groom's sister. She asked ahead of time if it would be all right if her students (and some of their friends) came along, which she was told was fine. So on Saturday eight of us purchased a gift for the couple, got into a combi and headed to Zinacantan. The street where the wedding was held was roped off. Tables and chairs had been set up under a canopy in front of the house of the wedding reception. Inside the home there were white balloons with the words "Nuestro boda" (our wedding) on them. There were more tables inside with white linens, beautiful floral arrangements, a three tiered cake, and alcohol and sodas on the tables. In this region of Mexico there is a type of liquor made called Pox pronounced "posh," an alcohol made from sugar cane and has also been referred to as "white lightning." This alcohol is used in healing rituals, religious ceremonies, and festivities, including this wedding.

We were greeted by the sister of the groom and made ourselves comfortable and took in all the excitement. There were groups of women sitting around wood burning tin stoves with comals (round flat cooking discs) where the handmade tortillas were crisped. Inside another room other women prepared large pots of the food for the 100+ expected guests. There was an altar inside the same room which had the Virgin Mary dressed in traditional Zinacantan fashion with candles and pine needles around it.
When the bride and groom arrived they were showered with confetti and shown their seats at the center of the main table. Four younger women went around pinning each guest with either a ribbon or heart with the name of the couple and the date. A line of men formed from the kitchen into the dining room and plates filled with chicken in mole sauce, rice, tortillas, and atol with bread were passed one by one in a highly organized assembly line fashion. The people not seated in the room where the bride and groom were eating patiently conversed and waited their turn to eat. We were invited to sit at a table with some of the men who helped pass the food along and enjoyed the meal as they did. Faith and I paid close attention to the order and way the food was being eaten by the other guests as to not make any mistakes on how to properly consume the given food. We noticed that the rice was placed into the sauce and then eaten first before the chicken was even touched. We couldn't help but get dirtier than the other men, mole sauce can be quite difficult to work with. We also noticed that none of the men drank their atol until after the food had been finished, so we followed their lead and mirrored that behavior as well. Each person had been given two large round sweet breads with their atol drink, a large amount per person and we noticed that many of the men wrapped their remaining bread in napkins to be eaten later, we also made sure to not leave behind any of the given food.

The cake cutting ceremony was next on the agenda and all the women gathered around to witness it. The bride and groom shared pieces of the cake with each other and smeared a minimal amount on each other. The bride was wearing her traditional floral outfit with a long white veil that covered her head and went to to her lower back. The groom wore his floral overshirt.

The couple then went into the room where the altar was and kneeled before it on the pine needle covered floor. It was a private affair and not many others entered or joined them. They remained in the altar room for the duration of our time there. The mood was light throughout the house and people casually chatted amongst themselves. One thing that stood out to Faith and I was the absence of music. Apparently the father of the bride had requested there be no music played at the reception, which is uncommon. We had heard that weddings could become rather rambunctious with pox flowing into everyone's cups. It was interesting to see a different take on a traditional wedding. We were honored and humbled to have been given the opportunity to experience this special moment.

After the reception Faith and I wandered through town and perused some of the local shops. Zinacantan seems to receive less tourists than their neighboring town of Chamula. We were the only foreigners there that day, but heard that the market takes place on Sundays and possibly could be their busier day. As a memento of our time here in Zinacantan Faith and I purchased a Zinacantan shawl that displays the bright colors and flowers like those worn by the women there. Faith and I love going over all our experiences here in San Cristobal de las Casas and are saddened that our time here will be coming to an end. We will be leaving San Cristobal this Saturday to revisit the coastal Soconusco region. We will most likely be getting involved with the farmers Sonja and I worked alongside during our field study there last Summer. We also plan to visit a sea turtle sanctuary on the beach where you can stay nightly in exchange for assistance at their sanctuary. We have been happy to have shared our experiences with those of you who read this, Sonja who came to visit and study, and my sister who will also be joining us this Thursday. We get to do a quick recap and enjoy all the favorite things about San Cristobal as we play tour guide for her. We will keep you all updated on what happens next and how the move goes. Abrazos!