Larrainzar, Chiapas a Tzotzil village.
Web gallery by Bob Freund
9/19/2005
with particiaption of Karen Elwell and Tom Aleto ,Narratives by Karen Elwell 9/2005
info@mexicantextiles.com
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1Tzozil Larrainzar weaver
1_Chps Tzo Larrainzar Tom
1_huipil
1_tzotzil larrainzar huipi(2003)
1_tzotzil larrainzar huipi(2003)a
1_tzotzil larrainzar huipil(1993)
1_tzotzil_ Larrainzar ixtle bag2
1_tzotzilmap
San Andres Larrainzar is the capital of the Municipio Autonomo of San Andres Sakamchen de Los Pobres. The majority of the Tzotzil people of the municipio are Zapatista supporters. Who can forget the sight of Comandante Ramona leading the rebels wearing a ski mask and a traditional red and white huipil?

We first traveled to San Andres in January 1993. The unpaved, boulder-strewn road was almost impassable. This was a year before the Zapatista uprising on 1-1-94. Local authorities let us enter the church. Dozens of statues of Baby Jesus were in the church, illuminated by hundreds of blinking Christmas lights still folded in their boxes. Clouds of fragrant copal surrounded us and the many Maya people praying for a better year to come.

We returned to San Andres in April 2003. The road from Chamula to San Andres was wide and well paved, a product of military action in the area. Although the town had grown a lot, most of the municipio´s people live in widely dispersed hamlets in the countryside. A large sign in the plaza informed us that the town was now a Zapatista stronghold. Despite that fact (or because of it) a large Army base is located out of sight on the outskirts of town.

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