Source: Mexico Today
San Cristobal de las Casas is a scenic, well-restored colonial town in the mountains of Chiapas. Hippies from the US, Argentina, and all points in between line the streets selling jewelry and exchanging greetings with traditionally dressed Mayan women selling fruit and their own handicrafts. Its center can be seen in half a day by taking slow walks down unhurried cobblestone streets, up staircases to hilltop churches, and into its massive market, where you will reenter the ¨real¨ Chiapas, a Chiapas slightly obscured by the polish of mass tourism and foreign owned businesses. The city was called “The most magical of the Pueblos Magicos” (magic towns, of which there are 40 in Mexico) by President Felipe Calderon in 2010. It offers any traveler, from backpacker to first-class-flier, an abundance of culture, nature, food, nearby places to visit, and friendly, diverse people. Two pedestrian streets intersect at the Zocalo (center square): Real de Guadalupe and Andandor Eclesiastico, both of which have options for many tastes – international and Mexican restaurants, coffee shops, bars, travel agencies, and souvenir shops. By far my favorite club is el Zirko, a salsa bar on the north half of Andandor Eclesiastico. The band is excellent and played late, starting around 11 and playing until 3 or 4, with breaks of course. They play every night, at least every time I stopped in. On Fridays and Saturdays there is a spacious backroom with club music. It was cheap – one night my bar bill was only about 150 pesos, and I had been there for hours. I spent a few nights playing guitar in front of the cathedral. Interesting folk from various countries gathered there after dark to play music, juggle fire, sell jewelry, and drink fairly obviously until the police came and politely told us to leave around 1 AM. Then we went from square to square as they followed us around, kicking us out with only slightly waning politeness each time, until we finally stumbled off to our respective hostels and cheap hotels. There are several markets in San Cris, including a big outdoor handicrafts market where you can buy purses, clothing, blankets, and amber jewelry. Farther from the Zocalo is the big, real Mexican market, and you will see things all things Chiapan, including larger-than-life guayabas, hard to find pitallas, and crazy multicolored beans. I bought a bag of pink, purple, and yellow beans with the intention of cooking them, but then when I went to a little mole restaurant the laughing staff told me that they were painted and for making jewelry. Then a waitress insisted on bringing me over to another bean seller to show me what real beans looked like. My favorite non-Mexican restaurant was Mayambe, an Indian place. It was located a little west of Andandor Eclesiastico on Avenida 5 de Mayo. I had some great, authentic curry and a nice chat with the American owner. Most meals were around 70 pesos. TRANSPORT There are very cheap buses from Mexico City to San Cristobal for around 300 pesos. Their offices are located near the Candelario station in D.F. – just ask in the market outside the metro. The company I used was Viajes Aury, and it stopped in Tuxtla and Puebla too. San Cristobal is less than an hour away from Tuxtla Gutierrez, about 1 and a half hours from Comitan (from where you can visit some beautiful natural areas like Lagunas de Montebello, among others), and about 4 hours from Palenque. All the buses and combis (passenger vans) are in the same area, a 10 minute walk from the Zocalo. Prices vary greatly between the first class buses, like OCC, and smaller companies and combis. For example, the OCC bus to Palenque is 150 pesos, while other buses go for 80. Or you can take a combi to Oconsingo and transfer there. I believe it is about 40 pesos. SAN JUAN CHAMULA A Mayan village in the mountains, San Juan Chamula is one of the more interesting places to visit near San Cristobal. At first pass it looks like any other Mexican town – the same fruit for sale on the street, the same pharmacies and snack shops, and beautiful pine forested hall all around. Then upon entering the Zocalo you see the difference: a bustling market day filled with Mayans: women in their superbly colorful dresses and men with hairy black jackets. Entering the church is entering another world, and for only 20 pesos! There are no pews, rather both sides are lined with statues of saints in glass cases with their facial expressions of supplication. All over the pine-needle covered floor are people kneeling and praying, with incense and charcoal burning in big urns and candles in rows all around. Most candles are white, which is a petition for peace, but other colors have other meanings: yellow has financial connotations, black is to prevent death in the family, green is to have good crops, and red is for love. People bring in sodas to place before them as they pray. A few were even drinking beer! They do this because carbonated beverages produce gas, the expulsion of which represents the expulsion of bad energy from the body. Whatever the reason, people drinking beer in church surrounded by candles and incense smoke is a sight to see. Two women kneeling on the floor have chickens wrapped in shawls. One rubs a chicken on her friend’s shoulders and then holds it out over the candles while chanting in a near-whisper. Not much Spanish is being spoken, and most people are either in reverent silence or loudly praying, with a few even weeping. This is a fascinating, funky location – a glimpse into a bizarre yet beautiful mix between radically different cultures, the assimilation of the oppressor culture into the ancient. Mayan villages are sprinkled throughout Chiapas. Many function separately from the government, a legacy of both tradition and the Zapatistas. For example, non-Mayans and non-Catholics aren`t allowed to live in San Juan Chamula. There are other nearby villages which I was warned against visiting, but without a doubt San Juan Chamula and San Cristobal are quite safe and two of the most worthwhile places to visit in all of Mexico.
Categories: Mexico