San Juan Chamula is home to 60,000 Tzotzil Mayans, a world apart from traditions and culture. In the temple dedicated to San Juan Bautista we can observe the surprising rituals that they practice, a syncretic mixture of Christianity and Mayan beliefs.
The vast majority of those who have visited San Juan Chamula get the impression of having been in a unique and special place, and so it is. Chamula is tourist, in the sense that there are few travelers that travel through the state of Chiapas in Mexico and do not come here. The extraordinary thing is that in spite of the constant drip of travelers, San Juan Chamula survives practically impermeable to the foreign influence. And by foreigner I also mean Mexican.
Why is San Juan Chamula different?
San Juan Chamula is home to 60,000 Tzotziles. This town is governed by different rules. No Mexican police corps enters here: neither the army, nor the municipal, nor the federal, nor the navy … they have their own police, do not pay taxes, nor change the time with the rest of Mexico. There are also no hotels and the foreigner must leave before 6 pm.
