This winter break, I travelled to southern Mexico for about a month instead of visiting home for the holidays. I met with various friends, both from Querétaro and Vancouver. It was generally wonderful. One of my favourite states that I visited was Chiapas. Known throughout Mexico to be a vibrant and beautiful state, it stole my heart. I stayed for about a week, and based myself in the town/city of San Cristóbal de las Casas. We are at that point in our relationship that I just affectionally call her San Cris.
She attracts a lot of people because of her history and presence of Indigenous culture. This attraction of tourism has also changed the facade of the town and expanded it alot: many people come to settle here, and as a result you’ll notice some strange foreign elements such as yoga/medidation studios, a strong organic/vegetarian food scene, as well as a really awesome Thai restaurant(okay maybe that last one is coincidence but seriously, that Thai food was so good). Depending on who you ask, the expansion is great, or not.
On January 1, 1994, the day that NAFTA went into affect, the town was occupied by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation Army or EZLN. They took over the town as well as some other surrounding communities. According to wikipedia they “read their proclamation of revolt to the world and then laid siege to a nearby military base, capturing weapons and releasing many prisoners from the jails”.
Cool right? Not only that, there is so much to do there! What do you do?! Let me list 5. I also added Palenque archeological site as it’s own category..
- Need a place to stay? STAY HERE, at the Posada de Abuelito. My experience in this city was so memorable and lovely thanks to the lovely staff, amazing breakfast, and comfortable beds of this hostel/posada.
- Walk down the beautiful pedestrian street of Real de Guadalupe, where you will find many restaurants, little coffee shops, and handicraft stores. Then, go off a few blocks to check out Café Bar Revolución. This place has live music almost every night [anything from salsa, hip hop, electronic, to Latino reggae], and has a great atmosphere of youth and rebellion! Lots of pictures of Zapatistas and people like Ché on the walls. Sadly, I forgot to snap a few of the place. But while you’re bopping your head to the live music, enjoy some delightful Mexican craft beer and the best nachos you’ll ever have. ALL THE BEANS AND CHILES AND CHEESE THANK YOU.
Real de Guadalupe (the street!)
The week we were there was the week leading up to Lady Guadalupe celebration. Lot’s of people!
- Make some chocolate! The local chocolate museum, Kakaw, gives little workshops on making chocolate from the raw cacao all the way to finished product. It was so much fun and kind of a gong show because we were all hyped up on chocolate. But you learn a lot, and end up with a delicious totally personalized chocolate bar! Mine was a dark chocolate with chili.
The raw cacao!
Sorting the beans
Roasting the beans
- Something I recommend no matter what city you visit in Mexico: visiting the local market. A great place to pick up some cheap market food, get some fresh groceries and juice, as well as human watching. Markets are a central part of Mexican culture, and therefore can be really interesting to visit to soak in the sights, sounds, and smells of the local life. Also, big plus is that there are usually little or no tourists in these places. I always feel pretty uncomfortable taking photos here (I don’t like people thinking they are on display for my camera to capture. I am also being stared at enough already and don’t want to draw more attention to myself). San Cris also has an artisan market catered especially for visitors, and is great place to pick up some beautiful handmade crafts and gifts for friends and family. Also for…yourself.
The artisan market
Chillin’. In the artisan market.
Smoothie making time!
- Take a day trip! The entire state is famous for having a diverse range of ecosystems, from beaches to jungles and mountains. As well, it also has some cool Zapatista stuff going on. We visited a Zapatista “caracol” called Oventiq, which was a highlight of my time in Chiapas. A caracol is a Zapatista community that is basically sovereign from the Mexican government. They don’t allow police or government officials in at all and have their own education and justice systems. Its free to go in and we were told students are welcome. Upon arrival (about 45min drive out of San Cris) we were greeted/observed by the iconic masked men and women zapatistas, and had to wait about 20 minutes while they decided if they were going to let us in or not. In the end, we got a tour of the buildings and schools from one of the local teens. It was a pretty uncomfortable/interesting experience. Uncomfortable because I felt like again, I was watching and…othering? Like such a tourist, watching observing from a distance, judging. Also though, really interesting. Our guide was polite, and amicable. He answered our curiosities, and tried to teach us some Tzotzil phrases (the commonly spoken Indigenous language here).
Our guide. He isn’t allowed to show his face.
“You are in Zapatista Rebel territory. Here the pueblo is in charge, and the government obeys”
Some sweet mural work going on throughout the community
After you’ve experienced your social awakening to the power of Indigenous people and especially Indigenous woman, make sure to check out some of the great landscapes and nature Chiapas offers too. Visit: Cascadas de Chiflon, Cañón del Sumidero [think vertical walls of 1000m, surrounded by national park, with crocodiles and lots of different birds.], Misol-Ha, Agua Azul,
One of the many Cascadas de Chiflon
We saw this one and thought “lets get closer!”
So we did!
Cañón del Sumidero
Misol-Ha Waterfalls
And then you can climb behind it!
Saki checking out Agua Azul
- And of course, you can’t miss the Palenque archeological site. In the thick of the jungle, you climb up the steps of the ruins with sounds of howling monkeys in the distance. Much lower in elevation than San Cris, even in December this area is humid, although not overbearingly. At the top—slightly out of breath due to a lack of exercise and a love of tacos—you take a deep breath and drink in the view. This used to be a space of great Mayan splendour, and whats crazy is that it’s still possible to recognize the grandeur that existed thousands of years ago; even if its crumbling in a lot of places with tourists taking selfies on the steps and tired looking locals selling kitchy souvenirs, you can still sense the blood and sweat that went into building this empire. It’s pretty cool.
They say only 90% of the existing ruins have been uncovered.
People used to live here
Here too.
