FESTIVALS, FEASTS & MUSIC
Washed down with pozol — a sweet beverage made with corn and cacao — and followed by a shot of the local pox flavoured with cinnamon or hibiscus, it's a satisfying meal.
Along with corn and cacao, coffee is another staple in the lives of Chiapans. The state produces 60 per cent of Mexico's coffee beans, according to Segundo Guillén Gordillo, owner of Corazón del Café, a boutique hotel close to the historic centre of Comitan, one of Mexico's pueblos magicos (magic towns), with each room named for a variety of coffee.
In early December, Comitan's town square is ablaze with Christmas decorations and the annual four-day International Festival of Culture and Arts is underway in honour of Rosario Castellanos, a celebrated author and poet who grew up here in the early 20th century. “It's very good,” says Gordillo. “There's lots of music with famous artists ... there's theatre, debates, expositions and literature.”
To learn about the pre-hispanic folk art called laca, you must visit the town of Chiapa de Corzo, the only place it's practised. Artisans use the oil of an insect called cochinilla, along with paint, to prepare and lacquer dry gourds and small boxes. Traditionally, laca was women's work, but men have recently joined their ranks, says 31year old Segundo de Jesus, who began when he was 15 and now does laca for a living.
Chiapa de Corzo is also home of the nationally celebrated Nandayapa Vargas family that has been making marimbas by hand for more than a century. As well as exporting marimbas around the world, the four brothers of the third generation also give educational concerts to help visitors understand the history and evolution of the musical instrument.
If you visit Chiapa de Corzo in January, you're in for a special treat. Every year between Jan. 4 and 23, townspeople hold their Fiesta Grande (Great Feast),
honouring three saints with music, dancing, religious ceremonies and feasting. Women wear embroidered satin blouses and full, flouncy skirts, while men don carved wooden masks, bristly blond `wigs' and striped ponchos. Starting in the morning and going until late at night, the men — known as parachicos — dance and shake maracas. In 2010 UNESCO recognized the dance of the Parachicos as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
While in Chiapa de Corzo, the Ceiba hotel is a pleasant place to stay. The owner supports local artists, invites musicians to perform, and serves dishes with typical ingredients such as chilpilin, a leafy green similar to spinach or watercress.