Fiesta de San Sebastian, January 20

A celebration of the patron Saint Sebastian, the martyr. This is a regionally famous festival. Legend has it that on this day, Doña María, a woman grateful for the cure of her young son, brought cattle and cereal to feed the starving people of Chiapa de Corzo. She ordered that her son be brought out on a stretcher, naked like a saint, so that the town would no longer fall on hard times. Legend has it that this act provided for a good harvest, and each year the Chiapenca honor the saint. The festival is marked by the arrival of the parachicos wearing their noted ixtle caps and beautiful masks with eyes made of painted glass. They wear silk shawls with embroidered beads, saltillo serapes and carry tin rattles. The festival also incorporates the use of tall papier-mâché figures known as marmotas, and the silly acting chuntas, (men dressed as women). These slides document the procession, dance, church, ephemera, offerings, effigies, mayordomia, merry making, and other traditions associated with this festival.

These slides are housed in LSF Container B.

A descriptive narrative of these slides is found on audiocassette #2 side A, which is housed in LSF Container RR.