Antigua

Antigua was the most beautiful of the cities we visited in Guatemala- beautiful colonial buildings and cobblestone streets. Once the third most important Spanish colony in the Americas, it is among the world's best conserved colonial cities. More than 30 monastic orders called Antigua home and they built beautiful monasteries, convents and cathedrals in the town. The city sits nestled between three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego and Acatenango. Antigua was Guatemala's capital from 1543 until 1776. After a massive earthquake in 1773 destroyed most of the city, the capital was relocated to present-day Guatemala City. During our city tour, there was still evidence of the earthquakes that have struck this city.

We found a gorgeous guesthouse run by an American woman. The rooms were lovely and the garden courtyard was lush with tropical plants—and near our room, a small table with a wooden figure of Maximon!

With only days left in Guatemala, we knew that we had to have one to take back to Boston. We were directed to the local artisan market and there he was—a beautifully carved Maximon –looking very much like the Max we had seen in Santiago Atitlán. We paid (an outrageous amount) and carefully carried him back to our guesthouse. Before we left, we carefully packed him for his journey back to Boston. (Note- we placed him in a place of prominence in our house- and within a few weeks, we noticed that there were offerings at his feet- a flower from an artificial plant, a few coins and a subway token. It took us a few minutes to realize that our Guatemalan house cleaner had created an active shrine to Maximon in our house)

Maximon in San Andres

We were on our way to Antigua but had heard of yet another Maximon – this time in the town of San Andres. We knew that we had to make a diversion. We had little trouble finding him. In this little town, he’s got his own church. Not that we knew a little more about visiting Max, we stopped at one of the many stalls near the church to buy our gift for him. We bought a package of incense topped with coins.
While we were waiting in the line to pay our respects, we discovered that we were next to a couple from Boston! They were Guatemalans, living in Boston, and made this pilgrimage to Max a regular part of their visit home. As we made our way into the church, you could see long tables surrounded by people lighting candles in different colors. The color of the candle represented your desire-

white -- spiritual blessings, purity, healing, rest
blue -- peace, harmony, joy, kindly intentions, healing
green -- money, gambling luck, business, a good job, good crops
yellow -- devotion, prayer, money (gold), cheerfulness, attraction
red – love, affection, passion
pink -- attraction, romance, clean living
purple -- mastery, power, ambition, control, command
orange -- change of plans, opening the way, prophetic dreams
black -- repulsion, dark thoughts, sorrow, freedom from evil – or revenge

We saw a gorgeous woman- dressed in a suit and heels – lighting her candle. This saint wasn’t just for the local poor.

We approached the back of the church and saw an altar- at the top was a huge glass case surrounded by flowers and blinking Christmas lights. Inside was Max – same black suit and hat, with a mouth open waiting for his cigar (or maybe his shot of rum). We climbed the stairs to reach the glass case and left our offering to Max.

Santiago Atitlan - Another encounter with Maximon

We were continuing our search for Maximon and had read of another incarnation in Santiago Atitlán. We took the ferry from Panajachel across the lake to Santiago Atitlá.

We arrived in town and started to wander in town. We would ask, in our halting Spanish, “Donde esta Maximon?” –and occasionally get some barely understandable directions.

Eventually, after walking for what seemed like forever on cobblestone paths, we stumbled on a small building – inside sitting on a dirt floor was a life-size wooden figure with a huge black hat and cigar in his mouth- covered in colorful scarves with a small plate for donations in front of him. We paid our respects, left a small donation (after all, he had saved our lives after our last encounter)

Lake Atitlan

Panahachel, in the Guatemalan highlands, has incredible views of Lake Atitlan and three volcanoes- San Pedro, Toliman, and Atitla. During the period of the Spanish conquest, the shores of the lake were the scene of a battle in which the Spanish and their Cakchiquel allies defeated the Tzutuhils. The Spanish set up a church and monastery in Panajachel soon afterward, and used the town as a center for converting the Indians of the region to the Catholic faith.

It’s also an incredible tourist trap and got its name of "Gringotenango" in the 1960’s when it was part of the “hippie trail” of backpackers through Central America.
We found it a bit too hectic for our taste- so we found a place on Lake Atitlan called, Hotel Vision Azul.

Aldous Huxley once claimed that Lake Atitlán was "the most beautiful lake in the world," and the views were absolutely gorgeous.

All was well in our little lakefront room, until we woke up one day to see a scorpion on the wall beside our bed.

Meeting Maximon

We had been reading about the Catholic Church in Guatemala and discovered that while the Spanish may have converted most of the Guatemalans to Catholicism, the indigenous people still hung onto their Mayan gods. The Mayan gods simply became Catholic saints! We discovered the most intriguing character- still venerated by the Guatemalans—Maximon (pronounced Mash-e-mon) – the saint of vices – gambling, prostitution, sex.

On New Year’s Day, we drove to Zunil, just a short ride from Quetzaltanango. The streets were fairly empty as it was a holiday and people were home with their families. Or so we thought. We found the Catholic Church and decided to try to find Maximon. Eventually we were directed to a small house fairly close to the Church. We walked in to a very small, dark room. It took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the darkness and realize that we were the only white people in a room filled with colorfully dressed indigenous people sitting on chairs around the perimeter of the room.

In the center of the room was a mannequin (of the department store variety) sitting in a chair. He was dressed in suit with a hat and sunglasses. He looked a bit like a Mafia boss. In front of him were stubs of hundreds of candles and smashed bottles of rum, cigars and money. Trying not to laugh at this incredible site- we watched in amazement as one of the men next to Max began wailing and pounding on his chest – then taking a bottle of rum, taking a huge swig himself- then taking the bottle to Max and pouring him with the rum. Stunned by the scene, we pulled out some money for a donation and quietly left the room. We didn’t know what we were onto- but we knew that we had to find out more about this strange “saint”.
Later that day as we were driving up a winding mountain road- considering the wisdom of driving in the Guatemalan highlands alone (the guidebooks were warning of local “banditos”) – we were faced with a car barreling directly at us, obviously out of control. John managed to swerve away at the last minute- avoiding a head on collision – and saving our lives. We watched in horror as the car spun around and continued down the road in reverse. We said a silent prayer of thanks to Maximon for his intervention…..
Maximón - From Wikipedia
Maximón is a saint venerated in various forms by Maya people of several towns in the highlands of Western Guatemala. The origins of his cult are not very well understood by outsiders to the different Mayan religions, but Maximón is believed to be a form of the pre-Columbian Maya god Mam, blended with influences from Catholicism. Maximón may also be called San Simón. Originally, he was believed to be a Catholic priest who had looked after aboriginals during early 1600s.
Where Maximón is venerated, he is represented by an effigy which resides in a different house each year, being moved in a procession during Holy Week. During the rest of the year, devotees visit Maximón in his chosen residence, where his shrine is usually attended by two people from the representing Cofradia who keep the shrine in order and pass offerings from visitors to the effigy. Worshippers offer money, spirits and cigars or cigarettes to gain his favour in exchange for good health, good crops, and marriage counseling, amongst other favours. The effigy invariably has a lit cigarette or cigar in its mouth, and in some places, it will have a hole in its mouth to allow the attendants to give it spirits to drink.
Maximón is generally dressed in European 18th century style, although with many local variations. In Santiago Atitlán he is adorned with many colourful garlands, while in Zunil (where he is known as San Simón) he has a much more intimidating style, with his face obscured by dark sunglasses and a bandanna.
The worship of Maximón treats him not so much as a benevolent deity but rather as a bully whom one does not want to anger. He is also known to be a link between Xibalbá The Underworld and Bitol Corazón del Cielo. His expensive tastes in alcohol and cigarettes indicate that he is a very human character, very different from the ascetic ideals of Christian sainthood. Devotees believe that prayers for revenge, or success at the expense of others, are likely to be granted by Maximón.