Chichicastenango

Chichicastenango is a small village north of Antigua, famous for its colorfull market (main one on sundays, another one on thursdays) and particular Chistian-Mayan ceremonies. We decided to get there on saturday evening to enjoy the village without the tourist rush (supposedly, tourists arrive on sunday around 11am).

Where from: Antigua
How: Chicken bus (main “station” behind the main market) to Chimaltenango, very often. From there, we grab a VIP (…sic…) bus to Los Encuentros. Finally, a small van to Chichicastenango.

The trip

Solola
The trip from Antigua to Chichicastenango is supposed to be a 4h to 5h drive. We are a little tired from the Pacaya volcano we did early this morning, and after a long good tacos lunch at Mundo Loco, we decide to try to make it (it’s already 3pm…). We arrive in the market, running to catch a bus. There is one leaving right now, and the ticket man wants us to climb by the back in an already overcrowded rolling bus - I - M - P - O - S - S - I - B - L - E. We decide to catch the next one, actually leaving in 10-15mn. The bus is empty, so we get a good seat. Once the bus is full (3 persons per 2-person seats + 2 people standing in the central alley between the side seats, i.e. 120 persons in a 60 seats bus), we leave for Chimaltenango. The next bus is supposed to be a vip bus. By vip we mean one person per seat (that sometimes break) with a crazy driver (chances to die in a turn: 79%) …. At Los Encuentros, we grab a mini van to Chichicastenango, and we are packed with people from the local villages. We actually hear for the first time the mayan dialects.

The evening

We arrive in a small city, and an old woman from the mini van with her kid wants us to see her hotel - it’s decent, and we unpack for the night. Time to get a first look at the city and ….. EAT ! We walk in dark streets, no charm. But the stands of the market are being mounted, a lot of people in the streets, and along the way, villagers seated at tortillas and corn soups food stands. We end up in a big empty restaurant, food not amazing - we should have eaten at the food stands too !Another surprising thing: during the evening (and the night …….) we regularly hear big explosions or fire shots. First a little anxious about it, we figure out that villagers LOVE firecrackers. The good big ol’ ones….

The market and ceremonies

Chichicastenango Wake-up at 5:30am, quick shower (to realize that the “agua caliente” was not so “caliente”), and to the market at 6am.Amazing scenes. Dressed up women and farmers, raimbow of colors, thousands of smells, the martket is swarming with dealers of tortillas, flowers, soups, and garments. No tourists at all, for the next 4 hours we only meet two or three. The centuries old church dominates the market perched on a set of steps which have been invaded by flower and candle dealers. At the entrance of the church, priests swing old fuming tin cans filled with encens. Inside, strange scenes of christian rituals, adopted by mayas but then adapted to their own rituals. Chichicastenango - Priests in front of the church Full of colors - some would even say kitsch: various Saints are decorated with bright scarves and shiny banderoles. After an two or three hours wandering in the market and the church, we have a nice little breakfast on a terrasse above the “parque central”. 10am has arrived, and tourists too. So later on, we head to a hill called Pascal Abaj, where rituals are supposed to happen in honor of the Earth God, symbolized by a big stone in the ground. Nothing specific there, we seem to have missed them. However, some locals praying while swinging the same tin cans as in front of the church. Chichicastenango - Ceremonies’ idols Back to the village, we cross processions of priests carrying their idols (the - kitsch - Saints) back to their homes. Very interesting, a massive crowd in the street, not that many tourists. We follow one of the processions through the small streets. Some of the priests text-message on their phone, interesting sight. Back to the chuch, we just sit on the church steps, among the flower dealers, for another hour - trying to become soaked with the atmosphere, the sounds, the colors, the scents.