San Andrés Larrainzar

This somewhat downtrodden Tzotzil Maya community is best known for having hosted peace talks between government and Zapatista forces, and as the namesake of the promising (but poorly implemented) San Andrés Peace Accords. The town is draped over several small steep hills, and exploring here can be something of a workout.

San Andrés Larrainzar is 25 kilometers from San Cristóbal [1] on the highway to (and past) San Juan Chamula [2]. Look for a turnoff after about 18 kilometers, where signs direct you left (uphill) to San Andrés. The town’s main entrance is at a sharp left-hand turn in the highway; continue straight to reach the center.

Traditional Dress and Textiles

Weaving is a traditional skill (performed exclusively by women) as well as an important source of income. Larrainzar women are known for incorporating bits of yarn into the warp and weft of their back-strap looms to create special designs. One product is the brocade, an ancient design associated with the Maya of Yaxchilán [3] that incorporates traditional symbols such as the snake, toad, diamond, flower, and monkey. The background color is usually bright red with many colors woven in.

Many women of San Andrés Larrainzar, and some men, continue to dress in traditional garb. Women wear raw white cotton blouses thickly embroidered with intricate geometric designs on a red background, and accompanied by a long blue skirt with a few light-blue lines woven across it.

Sunday Market

The main reason to come to San Andrés Larrainzar is the Sunday market, a colorful display of fruits and vegetables, live chickens (and dead ones too), handwoven textiles, and every sort of household item imaginable. Like most indigenous markets, the crowds and movement drop off considerably after 10 a.m., and is essentially over by midday.