Apparently this is going to show the world just what a holy place Chiapas is – but I think it might just prove how odd everyone is here. They do love statues of Jesus and of saints. Every church you go into has saints in glass boxes, dressed in lavish clothing. One child saint, who for some reason is always dressed as a doctor, also has toys in his glass box.
The whole thing reaches its peak in local villages like Chamula, where villagers are given responsibility to look after a certain saint for a year, in a kind of holy competition that can drive them to bankruptcy. The saints need quite a lot of looking after, including expensive clothes – although if they stop granting the villagers what they wish for, they lose their privileges very quickly.
Today we also discover a chocolate shop in San Cristobal – cue the sound of the Hallelujah Chorus. The man who is running it has been learning to make chocolate for the past few years, and he’s got rather good at it. Sadly he isn’t quite as good at marketing, and despite his stunning product, there is absolutely no one there. He has a couple of loyal customers now, though.
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