Dance of the Chuntáes

The Dance of the Chuntáes takes place during the Fiesta Grande de Chiapa de Corzo. With music, color and celebration, the parading of these characters starts in the afternoon on January 8th. They visit many churches, including San Jacinto, El Calvario, San Gregorio, and Santo Domingo, where they reveal their roots to the beat of the tambourine and reed flutes, taking their offering to San Sebastián Mártir.

The word Chunta has Chiapas origins, it means “servant” or “maid”. This tradition is an important part of the town’s history, and it involves hundreds of men dressed as women who represent, according to legend, the servants of a Spanish woman called María de Angulo, who during the colonial period helped the town emerge from famine.