Parachico

The Parachico or Parachicos are traditional dancers from Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, who dance on the streets of the town during the Grand Fiesta festivities, which take place from January 15 to 23 every year. The festival honors the local patron saints the Black Christ of Esquipulas, Saint Anthony Abbot, and Saint Sebastian. It is claimed locally that, like many of the Catholic festivals in Latin America, it has its roots in the much older indigenous culture. So it has developed into a hybrid of old indigenous culture and newer Catholic and Spanish cultures. The church where the festival concludes is home to an old tree which, according to residents, predates the church. This tree is said to represent the "tree of life" (drawing on Maya and other pre-Hispanic American cultures), which would suggest that this site was used for ceremonies before the arrival of Catholicism.

The festivities, which include Roman Catholic religious ceremonies, music, dancing, and local cuisine, were included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists on November 16, 2010, listed as "Parachicos in the traditional January feast of Chiapa de Corzo".^[1]