On my way to the popular tourist town of San Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas, I stopped for a night in the small village of Chiapa de Corzo to visit the Canyon de Sumidero. To my surprise, I found myself in the middle of the finale of their annual week long festival, the Festival of the Parachicos. The women wear colourful dresses and the boys wear strange masks with toilet brushes on their heads, reminiscent of early Dr Who. The boys then parade round the main square shaking maracas and making a strange ape-like grunting noise. Apparently it is to celebrate a poor sick Spanish boy who was cured by a local healer. His rich parents then threw a big bash for the whole town, which they continue to celebrate to this day.
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