Tenejapa

Following the road, we arrive at the Romerillo cemetery and its crosses. On all souls’ day, families share their food with their defunct at the cemetery. Later we follow the skirts of Tzontehitz hill, the highest of the highlands and mythical home of San Juan, to arrive finally at Tenejapa, 28 kilometers from San Cristobal de las Casas. The crowded valley of this Tzeltal community is dominated by a calcareous wall. The church of San Ildefonso, the quaint fountain of the plaza, and the ruins of the church of San Sebastian form part of their cultural patrimony. Another part is the one constituted by their profoundly rooted traditions. Its Sunday market for example, is one of the most colorful of the region, as well as their fiestas of Santiago and carnival. The women of Tenejapa are fine weavers; their huipilies are authentic works of art, whose motifs are symbols of prehispanic origin. From Tenejapa, a dirt road takes us to San Juan Cancuc, another Tzeltal community, famous for having been the origin of the Zendal rebellion of 1712. The church of San Juan Evangelista has a canvas that reminds us of that feat in the history of Chiapas. Returning on the same road to the valley of San Cristobal, we take the Pan-American highway to the southeast towards Teopisca