The traditional Grand Festival of Chiapa de Corzo takes place from January 8th to 23rd each year in this beautiful town located just 15 km from the center of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the state of Chiapas.

The celebration is about honoring the Lord of Esquipulas, San Antonio Abad, and San Sebastian with music, dance, crafts, gastronomy, religious ceremonies, and other amusements.

Its origins are pre-Hispanic, but this tradition is also linked to stories from the colonial era.

The dances of the parachicos, a term that refers both to the dancers and the type of dance they perform, are considered a collective offering to the revered saints.

The dancers wear a wooden mask, headdresses called monteras, colorful sarapes, and a tin rattle called chinchin. They go out, roam the streets, and dance to the sound of the reed flute (pito) and the drum from morning until night, visiting houses and churches that have the saints since the dance is a form of offering.

In each festival, the number of parachicos increases, as more than half of the population participates in the celebration. They are guided by a patron carrying a mask with a stern expression, a guitar, and a whip. The patron plays the flute accompanied by one or two drummers. During the dance, the patron sings praises to which the parachicos respond with acclamations. This role is passed down from generation to generation.

The manufacturing of the masks also has a specific technique that is passed down from parents to children, as the process begins from the cutting and drying of the wood to the final carving and ornamentation.

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