Chamula. Part 2/2 A visit to Posheria and the Cemetery

After agreeing to spend a day together with local friends M&M and C, they promised they would take us to a posheria. Posheria is a bar where they sell posh (pox in tzotzil dialect). Posh is a traditional liquor from the highlands of Chiapas made of corn, sugar cane and water. 

Never make assumptions. On the day we agreed, I thought we would go to one of the posherias within the city of San Cristobal de las Casas. Instead they took us to Cruzton, Chamula. The place we went to, turned out to be one of the best posh makers in the area and a favorite of our friends. Inside the room there were plastic barrels, each one of them containing a different flavor. 

Ink&Pen, watercolor and color pencil on Pentalic watercolor journal 7" x 10"

Of course part of the shopping is the tasting. I think we tried every flavor! Including the Primera, or first destilled, super strong but very good actually. I couldn't hide my excitement.

During the tasting a bunch of people came to buy posh here, including a North Korean, it made me laugh seeing him make a facial expression when he tasted Primera posh, he looked like when a baby tries lime for the first time. Ha! 
We couldn't see how they make it. For we needed to go into the woods, on a gravel road and we didn't had the proper vehicle. Why deep in the woods? Well it made sense to me when they told me the wood is there, it's easier to carry the containers with posh than the wood they use to cook it. 

Pen&Ink and watercolor on Pentalic watercolor journal 7" x 10"

After the posh experience, M took us to Chamula's main cemetery in El Romerillo. There, the graves is the first thing you notice. The earthen mounds are covered with wood boards, which means a door, and also protects the mounds from erosion when it rains. 
The cemetery is guarded at the crest by maya crosses, beautifully painted in shades of blue and green. On the Day of Dead, the relatives of the dead bring offerings, flowers and branches of the sacred pine tree. Marcelino has two relatives buried here. On November 1st they clean the graves and make the mounds look like fresh, they play live music and dance around the graves, it's a happy day not a sad one. 

That is how we spent the day with them. We were lucky they took us to their favorite places and shared personal thoughts with us, that made the experience rich and unforgettable.
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