DECORATIVE MASK OF THE PARACHICOS DE CHIAPAS DE CORZO COR

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The Parachicos in Chiapa de Corzo's traditional January festival is listed as Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The traditional Fiesta Grande de Chiapa de Corzo takes place from January 8 to 23 each year in this Mexican town. Music, dance, handicrafts, gastronomy, religious ceremonies and entertainment are part of this festivity in honor of Our Lord of Esquipulas and two saints of Catholicism, San Antonio Abad and San Sebastián Mártir, the latter being especially honored as the patron saint of the parachicos. The dances of the parachicos - a term used to designate both the dancers and the type of dance they perform - are considered a collective offering to the venerated saints. The dancers travel throughout the town carrying the holy images and visiting various places of worship, and their dances begin in the morning and end at night. Wearing sculpted wooden masks, headdresses with monteras and dressed in sarapes, embroidered shawls and colorful ribbons, the dancers play tin rattles called "chinchines". They are led by a patron wearing a mask with a severe expression, a guitar and a whip, who plays the flute accompanied by one or two drummers. During the dance, the patron harmonizes with praises, to which the parachicos respond with acclamations at the altars of the saints on their day of celebration. The dance is transmitted and learned at the same time as it is performed: the children who participate in it imitate the movements of the adults. The technique for making the masks is passed down from generation to generation, from the felling and drying of the wood used to make them to the final ornamentation, including learning how to sculpt them. During the Fiesta Grande, the dance of the parachicos invades all areas of local life, fostering mutual respect between communities, groups and individuals.