warning - sappiness ahead
How to start this post? Maybe with the two events that, last minute, changed the course of my last three days in Chiapas, Mexico.
- A National Boycott (more on that later) that led me to take Friday off.
- Rescheduled original Saturday morning flight for Sunday due to "severe storm weather warnings" from Delta.
The Sunday before, I searched Goodreads for a book suggestion on Chiapas. Nothing interesting, or well-rated came up, at least not immediately, so I took to Spotify. I typed Chiapas in the Audiobook section and one of the top five recommendations was Kokono' de una mujer rebelde. A memoir by Claudia Santiz released only last year. I will use the Amazon synopsis (I began to write my own but I don't think it'd do it justice.)
The story of struggle and passion of a rebellious Tzotzil woman who shaped her own destiny while sharing the wisdom of indigenous peoples.
The fate of Claudia Sántiz had been written since birth: she was supposed to get married at thirteen and tend to her family in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. However, the gift of rebellion past down by her women ancestors took her to challenge paradigms of gender and origin.
By gambling on her education, her life would take a turn when her thesis ended up in the hands of chef Enrique Olvera. With Pujol, Claudia would begin her journey around three of the most prestigious restaurants in the capital city. Nonetheless, urban life would confront her with loneliness, discrimination, and cultural shock.
Shortly after, she returned to Chiapas to care for her health and her family’s, and to fulfill a dream: open her own restaurant. After years of sowing, came the reap: interviews, accolades, and travels, even ranking as one of the most promising chefs in the world in 50 Next.
The fate of Claudia Sántiz had been written since birth: she was supposed to get married at thirteen and tend to her family in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. However, the gift of rebellion past down by her women ancestors took her to challenge paradigms of gender and origin.
By gambling on her education, her life would take a turn when her thesis ended up in the hands of chef Enrique Olvera. With Pujol, Claudia would begin her journey around three of the most prestigious restaurants in the capital city. Nonetheless, urban life would confront her with loneliness, discrimination, and cultural shock.
Shortly after, she returned to Chiapas to care for her health and her family’s, and to fulfill a dream: open her own restaurant. After years of sowing, came the reap: interviews, accolades, and travels, even ranking as one of the most promising chefs in the world in 50 Next.
I have goosebumps and tears in my eyes reading this now.
After that Sunday, I clicked play on the audiobook, narrated by Claudia herself (in Spanish of course), and spent the week listening. I had not heard about her before, hours in, her story was already touching me in every way and then she spoke about her child - her restaurant, formerly known as Kokono now Claudia Santiz Restaurante, and that it was in San Cristobal. I could NOT go home without dining at her restaurant, knowing that it was only an hour away. That Thursday morning, I Whatsapped the contact on her website to see if we could get a reservation for that evening or the next day - they responded right away, but it took a bit to confirm that it would be Friday and then a few more hours to confirm the time. No matter!! My little group and I were already on the bus there (thank you Juan, Emily, and Raul for indulging me and making this happen!! I love you!!). I understood why it took a while to confirm the time they could seat us - Claudia works with students and their university schedule and also, I now understand they have regular restaurant hours. . . .
We arrive in San Cristobal around 6pm - it was a very smooth and PICTURESQUE ride!!! It was incredible and my photos could never do it justice.
I was prepared to book an Airbnb, but I was very grateful that Raul reached out to his cousin that lives in San Cris - he opened his home to us. As soon as we got to the ADO (bus) station, we realized it was only a short 10 minute walk - yay! We made it there, put down our stuff, and made our way "downtown" or to the Centro Historico - we had a delicious dinner, did some window shopping, hot chocolate at Cacao Nativa and heard great live street music. I saw a couple tour ads for "Indigenous Pueblos" (I just watched a video where Claudia refers to them as PUEBLOS ORIGINARIOS)- I was dying to go!! But Raul was adamant that it was not a good idea. Some of the communities here can be very closed off to foreigners, local governments don't have jurisdiction, and it's one of those - hey if you get into trouble, there may not be anyone to help you -. I was bummed but hey! I am not from here and I respect it.
Quick side note: San Cris is REALLY CHILLY. It kind of beats Atlanta in that way. My brother and I shared a bed and we were struggling for the blanket that night . .. . . it was cold enough that it was the first night I slept without showering and in my same CLOTHES!! My thin pajamas would not have cut it.
The next morning, Friday, the only thing on my schedule was our 4PM reservation. Since I had taken the day off, I was free to explore with my brother (my sis and BIL had work). We went out to breakfast right near the square pictured above. We were halfway through when my BIL called me to check my texts - he had shared with his cousin that I wanted to do the Indigenous tours and he said it wasn't dangerous these days and that, no pressure, but his friend who does tours was available at 11am (in twenty minutes) to take us on a tour and we would only need to be back by 2pm as he had another tour scheduled. . . how the stars aligned for me!! We met him on the square (by the cross) and we were off to San Juan Chamula. No, not just any community - the one Claudia Santiz is from! It's not necessarily a coincidence since it's only about a 25 minute ride and it just makes sense that San Cris ("the big city") is where she would open her restaurant but I just didn't know or put it together. I was elated!!!
You drive into town through rolling hills, it doesn't look much different from another rural pueblo except for, what my tour guide called, and I find adequate, their "cake" houses. I wish I was able to take a picture, but the nice homes just look like yummy, frilly, cakes - large squares, pastel colors, tall carved pillars that look like marshmallow lollipops. They had their own unique architecture! San Juan Chamula is virtually all indigenous - Tzotzil Maya and 99% of its inhabitants speak this language with Spanish as a second language, if at all. It is an autonomous municipality - hence the note on how the government can't really do much here. They still wear their traditional garbs, and you can actually tell which "community" the person is from depending on the pattern and style.
Anecdotal experience from my BIL: when he was much younger, he and his family were driving through the general area (maybe the greater municipality) to a far away event, when a drunk driver hit them and caused great damage to the car. Described like in a movie: immediately, people from the community came out of the woodwork to sweep away shattered glass and evidence of a crime scene (minus the perpetrator who landed in the nearby ravine). They offered his family cash and since it wasn't nearly enough to cover the damages, they refused and said they would wait for the authorities. Well, it was hours until the authorities arrived. They usually DON'T and thats why the "authorities" were a single officer and all he could say was along the lines of "hey look, they just sent me, you're lucky they have even offered you money. Just take it - there's not much I can do for you, I am leaving now and I suggest you do the same before it gets too late"
Below - 1500s church and their cemetery. Which more closely resembles a US one, with the lack of mausoleums that traditional Mexican cemeteries use. 
Ah, the beautiful and the terrifying sides of a tight knit, private, 'look out for your own' type of community. More on the terrifying - it is an extremely machista culture. Women have practically no say, controlled by their fathers until they are married off and then controlled by their husbands (which makes Claudia's story that much more inspiring!). They have dowries. . . and as I have now heard from two parties, have gone as far as to sell their daughters for Coke, no not cocaine, Coca Cola.
This bubbly drink's status has risen to one of great reverence! As our tour guide explained it, they have a traditional alcohol, Pox (pronounced posh), rooted in Mayan cultured and made of corn, sugar cane, and wheat. Man it's good!! 45% a/vol and they can make it any flavor (tamarindo, mango, guayaba, etc. pity I forgot to buy some to bring back!). Well the name Pox, translates to cure or medicine. The Tzotzil use this to cure any ailments, disease, or sickness. During COVID - they'd just take a big swig to kill the virus. You can imagine at 45%, you'll feel SOMETHING running its course through your body and help you expel all the bad. This is traditional. Soda enters the scene, and guess what? that carbonation, although not the same burn, still helps expel ... burp... out all the bad.
Our next stop was the Iglesia de San Juan Batista - what a beautiful experience (goosebumps!) the epitome of Catholic and Mayan tradition all wrapped in one.
BTW after the 1500s church, we parked on the street to walk to the main Church and it was speckled with white people! What was there to be afraid of LOL. I noticed that the amount of American tourist was minimal and plenty of Europeans!! I thought, there must be a direct flight from Paris to Tuxtla ;-). Unfortunately, our tour guide said Europeans don't stimulate the economy as much, as they don't really buy souvenirs or food - pity! Fellow Nationals on the other hand. . . and I witnessed it first hand when my family of 20 spent $$$ and spent $$$ on gifts and food. We needed two afternoons of shopping and I still left with a feeling of NOT ENOUGH!!.
So the Church tour - I guess this is where it can be "dangerous" as there is absolutely no photography allowed. This is to prevent bad actors or those who are only there to humiliate the locals. Let me see if I can lay it out for you . . . you enter, there are no pews, fresh pine straw litters the floors, long tables on the sides of the church with an over abundance of lit candles. There are no bright fluorescent overhead lights, just dim yellow light chandeliers, the glow of the candles, and sun rays peeking in that catch the smoky air. Saint statues in large glass boxes adorn the periphery of the church walls. Saint John the Baptist sits at the front and center of the Church with Jesus at his side (he is the patron saint more revered than him). In the middle, are families on the floor, surrounded by their own candles (10, 20, 30) set in patterns according to their family's tradition, performing rituals. I saw the pox, the coke, the manzanita, the juices, that they used as offerings. I saw a woman who was using a chicken as part of her ritual, she would pass it above her right shoulder, to the left and above her head over and over until she handed it to a younger female relative (who I originally thought was a tourist) and I watched as she expertly wrung the chickens head. According to our tour guide, they believe the bad energy goes to the chicken and when they die, it dies with it. When I asked him about how they felt about all these tourists hovering over them during a time so sacred, he said that although there was initial push back from some of the community, most, if not all now, see us as part of it, and we are also transferring our energy towards their ritual.
I had to Google for some photos as it was so beautiful!! There were more families when I went then shows below and again, it can't capture what I saw and felt. Please read the post from where this photo is credited, it's a quick and such a descriptive read. I have just subscribed to his blog!
After our church visit, we had enough time to make it to the nearby village of Zinacantan. I will save the details of this visit for when I write my post on the Zapastistas. I hope to also dive a little deeper on the people from San Juan Chamula (there must be details from my tour guide that are escaping me right now!) and other communities. I want to touch on their clothes, their economy, sub culture, language, etc.
We got back into town around 2:30pm and asked the guide to drop us off where we were staying. This way I could change from black athleisure to a black dress. We then walked about 45 minutes to the reason we were here - a 5 course dinner at a celebrity chef's restaurant. Although it never felt like celebrity chef but simply, an inspirational, brave, defiant woman and her dream.
What I did not realize, is that SHE herself would be cooking for us (along with her sous chef). The Whatsapp did say NUESTRA chef but I thought they were referring to any female chef. A small part of me was hoping it would be her but I couldn't be sure and could not get my hopes up. Not only that, as you can see in the photo above it was closed. . . because we were the only four people she was cooking for at that moment. We were seated at a table of four - all facing the bar where they prepared the food. What a TREAT!!! I am crying right now, because I am just so incredibly grateful for the experience. Listening to her voice as she told her story for the last week, listening to the last chapter on the way to the restaurant and finishing it when we paused at a nearby park just connected me to this experience on another level. I could endlessly bring up the book because she dives into what the restaurant, her child, means to her.
We started with a Pox - so yummy!! served in a gourd? I can't remember but the flavor of the pox, was out of this world. I think I had three cups. My sister had half and said she couldn't feel her legs LOL. This was tascalate flavor (Chiapas drink of toasted maize, cocoa, cinnamon, and achiote) and probably another secret twist.
I could not cheese any harder!!! When we first did introductions of some sort, I explained how I came to reach out - not only did she blush when I mentioned I read her book - my own face was on fire as I spoke.
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| the newlyweds |
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| cheers! juan |
Our next course was a tamal (blue maize) stuffed with Chiapas cheese or double cream cheese, topped with a a simple but GOD SO good salsa and. . .ugh forgot the name of the garnish! but it was also included in the tamale. Another one of her questions at the end was what dish is your least favorite (or something along those lines). This was my sisters as she is not a big fan of cheese and it had A LOT of cheese. This was also mine but because tamales are my favorite food and I am a BIG FAN of masa (the dough) and my carb hungry self would want it to have more masa. Again, it was delicious!! but if I had to pick something to change. She appreciated the honest feedback.
Our next dish was mole (not too sweet, yay!), perfectly rich and multi dimensional. Mole was drizzled over a piece of chicken stuffed with cauliflower. Wow!! A creation of it's own. This was my brother's WOW dish and he shared the feedback with Chef Claudia. He said the closest he's gotten to a vegetable with mole are the carrots and peas that fall from the side of rice and this dish gave him a different perspective of what could be paired with mole. Love it, Juan! And yes, more Pox for me!! We were also served guanabana juice. . . or was it guayaba? I think guayaba and pozol (pre-hispanic drink made with fermented masa and cacao) with a house twist (an herb I can't remember now - hoja santa, was it??) The merging and use of all the ingredients that are close to Raul's heart was very touching for him. He was very skeptical about the experience - fine dining, tiny portions, uppity chef, but no, the experience proved otherwise ;-).
Our next dish!! Zucchini shell stuffed with zucchini and just ripe banana covered in a creamy peanut sauce. This was a totally unexpected combination for me - it was really good though!! I think I fell more in love with bananas this trip. Again, the simplicity and purity of all the ingredients came together. And I think that was really the highlight. Fresh and excellent ingredients. She mentions in her book - 80% of all ingredients are bought local from like minded producers (same values in community and quality), and the other 20% from within the state of Chiapas.
Our final dish (and I regret not going with the 7 course option) was this dessert. The bottom is course tascalate mix (remember its the Chiapas drink of toasted maize, cocoa, cinnamon, and achiote) mashed banana at again, the perfect ripeness, a medley of fruit in season, topped with a simple honey drizzle, also mixed with an herb that I can't remember now and garnished with that same herb. Again, her goal is that we can take something from her food. And I thought this dish was a good one for my sister to try to emulate and impress her new official in laws ;-).
We had a very emotional ending to our early dinner. I was trying not to cry and she was like, no let it out, this is what happens here. My brother in law also got emotional (although not to the point of tears), like I said, all his favorite ingredients, his Chiapaneco culture, his beautiful bride by his side ;-), all coming together for a memorable experience.
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| me on the way to speak to you about our lord and savior, kokono |
https://www.amazon.com/rebelde-primera-reconocida-promesas-internacional/dp/6073854307Thanks for reading if you got this far!! <3 see you in the next post.
