Chiapas

You’re at your favorite Mexican restaurant and decide to enjoy a great tortilla with salsa and cheese. You palm the warm disc and spoon chili along the middle bend. That looks great, especially after you sprinkle cheese over the filling. You fold your masterpiece and take a bite. Great, but a second later, your tortilla […]

Fruit desserts, whether candied, crystallized or compotes, are among the most popular throughout the state of Chiapas. This one is more like a pudding, and may be served chilled or at room temperature, depending upon the time of year and the other courses being served. Chiapans have a collective sweet tooth, and the amount of […]

The chilly evening air and the long tradition of fine baking in San Cristobal combine to make this soup a welcome repast in that lovely mountain town. Accompanied by a salad, this thick soup could easily serve as a main course. Ingredients: ¼ cup corn oil or lard 1 onion, peeled and chopped 2 tomatoes, […]

Chiapas style beef with cabbage is quick, easy, inexpensive and satisfying. And did I say versatile? It can be served with rice, used as a filling for stuffed chiles, or a topping for tostadas. Adapted from Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy. Ingredients 1 pound lean ground beef 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black […]

Plantains, called plátano macho in Spanish, play an important role in the diet of southern Mexicans. They should not be used in cooking until ripe, at which point they will be nearly black all over. These tasty croquettes are filled with beans or cheese. Ingredients: 4 ripe plantains, skins left on, cut in half 4 tablespoons flour […]

Somewhat akin to the manchamanteles of Oaxaca and Puebla, this Chiapan main dish typically uses very little chile. Instead it is characterized by the sweet and tart contrast of the vinegar marinade and the fruit. Ingredients: 1 chicken, cut into serving pieces ¼ cup grated onion 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and mashed in a […]

A juicy pork filling, flavored with spices, makes these substantial Chiapas style pork empanadas a good lunch or late supper dish. Any leftover roast meat would be good here. The dough is traditionally made with pork lard, though butter works well. To coarsely grind the spices as called for, I put them together in a […]

Don’t worry if tourism hotspots like Acapulco or Cancun are not your cup of tea. Mexico has many `hidden’ treasures unspoiled by mass tourism. The Parque Nacional Lagunas de Montebello, also known as Lagos de Montebello, is one of these beauties. My travel partner and I vowed to visit the park after being enchanted by […]

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, where I chose to live five years ago, is a city time almost forgot. Situated in the highland valley of Jovel at an elevation of 2,100 meters, it’s a city mingling future and past. As the gateway to mountainous communities, more indigenous than mestizo, it’s a city where ancient […]

That’s right! They wouldn’t! And just think of the hours of pleasure that a simple rubber ball gave you as a child. Would you have had as much fun if it hadn’t had a good bounce? I don’t think so… It has long been known that the pre-Columbian peoples of Mexico had rubber objects, including […]

The child, they said, was old enough to collect leña — kindling — from the rugged Chiapas hillsides and to mount and ride a burro. His peasant parents called him “hombrecito” — “little man” — and trusted him to care for the few chickens and goats that provided the family with sustenance. One moonless night, awakened by the barking […]

Cogan’s Reviews This is an odd volume. I originally bought it because it advertises itself as “a gathering of some of the best travel writing ever” about Mexico. However, you quickly find as you dip into it that not all the articles are about travel. Also, very few of them have been written in recent […]

Lancandon Journal — 1969 By Dimitar Krustev Editorial Mazatlan, 2013 Note: While the cover says “Lancandón,” the legal page (and usual spelling) is Lacandón, used throughout this review. Like most travel journals, Dimitar Krustev’s Lacandon Journal — 1969 lacks literary “finish.” Plebian in style it often just plods along; but, nevertheless, parts of it are certainly pleasurable. […]

Let the Water Hold Me Down By Michael Spurgeon Ad Lumen Press, American River College, 2013 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback Michael Spurgeon has written a remarkably fine novel. Let the Water Hold Me Down has the makings of a classic. It is written with skill and with grace, and the old verities that are at the […]

Photos of Zapatistas in Chiapas. For more about the Zapatistas, see Jim Tuck’s “Mexico’s Zapatista Movement – then and now” Published or Updated on: March 1, 2000 by Emiliano Thibaut © 2000  

Sometimes, due to business commitments or transportation snags, we find ourselves in a not-planned-for place. Tuxtla Gutierrez is thought of by many as such place. Indeed, most travelers in Mexico go “through,” not “to” this city, since it’s a transportation hub, not only for the state of Chiapas, but for most of the Mundo Maya […]

Now that you’ve decided to visit Tuxtla Gutierrex, let me give you some information about the climate here and what type of clothing you will need to pack for your visit. The city of Tuxtla Gutierrez fills a long, low valley and is usually described in guide books as being terribly hot and humid. In […]

By now, I’m assuming you are finally here, settled into your hotel, refreshed and unpacked. Let’s begin our tour right away, because it will actually take more than three days to see and enjoy everything here. We will use taxis rather than colectivos to save time during your visit. After all, they are very affordable […]

After an exciting week visiting a close friend, meeting new ones, and immersing myself fully in the rich cultural experience that is Oaxaca, I was headed home to celebrate Christmas with my family and friends in Chiapas. My husband was back in the States on business, so I had taken this special trip to Oaxaca […]

You would think that by now, well into my third year of living in Chiapas, I would have learned that familiar U.S. customs — especially ones which make me feel as though I have slipped into a comfortable old bathrobe — do not always transfer gracefully into my new country. But without the benefit of an established […]

I have spent the early morning hours of this cool, beautiful summer morning surfing the Internet for international news and letters from friends in distant places. With my laptop clicking and whirring — and my modem giving me the occasional seductive wink — I make final revisions to a manuscript scheduled for publication on “Mexico […]

We sit crushed together, moist and miserable, in the back of the battered old VW van as we do every day about this time. Interesting odors assail our noses. We would rather not know what it is we are smelling. The mid-afternoon heat is beyond depressing; it is defeating. Eleven of us wait to go […]

The day starts early here in Copoya. Hours before a bright pink sun rises over the eastern mountain, the roosters, pigs, and braying burros compete noisily with horn blowing little colectivos speeding down into the great mercados of the city, slowly awakening below. The much less exotic sounds of dogs barking and kids playing will soon follow. The bell in the […]

Many visitors in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, realize that the quaint mountain town, aside from being a destination in itself, is a perfect jumping-off point for dozens of side-trips. Surrounding indigenous villages, the Lagos de Montebello, and even Palenque, four hours away, are accessible for ambitious travelers. But not many tourists venture deeper […]

What started as a hobby for painter Gabriela Epstein has grown into an essential part of her existence. “It’s everything to me,” she says, describing art as her profession and source of income, but also as something instinctual that serves as a form of therapy and channel of expression for her. Epstein started down the […]

High in the mountain cloud forest of Chiapas, nestled within a bowl of hills, lies the ancient Colonial city of San Cristobal de Las Casas. For some 500 years it has pursued its own destiny, isolated from the world as if on a different planet. Through the ages, it has retained its distinctive Spanish Colonial […]

Part One details the drive from Oaxaca City to San Cristobal de las Casas. Interactive Map of Chiapas Although along the basically good, two-lane highways descending from San Cristóbal to Palenque there are several homes and businesses offering gasoline for sale, and at Ocosingo you’ll find gas stations, it’s best to fill up as you leave San […]

This 2,000 kilometer driving tour serves the needs of vacationers to Oaxaca who also want to take in the sights in central Chiapas. It is also useful those who want to at least consider visits to the Pacific coastal resorts in Oaxaca and the Gulf beaches and cultural sights in the state of Veracruz… all […]

Although the mention of Chiapas frequently brings to mind images of masked revolutionaries and steamy jungles, Mexico’s southernmost state is a beautiful combination of mountains, plains and seacoast where tourism is once again flourishing as people rediscover the wonders of a region with deep pre-Hispanic routes. Long before the Europeans advanced into Chiapas from the […]

The only thing that is definitely known about Subcomandante Marcos, the ski-masked mystery man who leads the Zapatista rebels in the jungles of Chiapas, is that he is an intellectual. Conflicting sources who assure us that they know the true identity of the man behind the mask have variously identified him as a disillusioned government […]

gallery January 1, 2006 by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz © 2006

gallery January 1, 2006 by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz © 2009

Interactive Map of Chiapas About 20% of the 4.8 million people living in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state, belong to one or other of the state’s numerous indigenous groups, including various Maya groups and the Lacandon Indians. Development and cultural issues relating to indigenous communities in Chiapas are many and varied. The state’s El Chichón Volcano […]

Organic farming has helped some indigenous peoples in Mexico to reinvent themselves. How many people are there? According to INEGI figures, about six million Mexicans over the age of five speak at least one indigenous language. Another three million Mexicans consider themselves indigenous but no longer speak any indigenous language. How many indigenous towns or […]

Posted by Janis on August 12, 1999 Hola a Todos, This is not meant to be a political question, I know this may seem impossible, but I am looking for some factual info. Last evening I saw a documentary by Nettie Wild entitled “A Place Called Chiapas.” Wild is a Canadian filmmaker who spent eight […]

This photo gallery shows how Day of the Dead is celebrated in Chiapas. January 1, 2006 by Craig ‘Cisco’ Dietz © 1999

Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México (State of), México City, D.F., Michoacán, Morelos, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Queretaro, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Yucatán, Zacatecas,

Some days are better than others. Visa days are hardly ever good, filled as they are with anxiety and uncertainty. All this visa business seems so silly to me, and so costly, and so inconvenient. Why can’t I just live here in peace? It’s enough to drive a person to drink… Welcome to the ripoff […]