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Inside this house resides Maximón himself. Every year during Holy Week he will change households. But he must remain on display year-round because pilgrims from all over Guatemala and beyond come to visit and worship him. The effigy has special attendants that stay by the altar year-round, drinking and smoking alongside it. They light his cigarette and pour booze down his open mouth. They were the ones who delivered our offerings. Oral tradition of his creation and purpose is complex and diverse and stems from ancient Mayan traditions of centuries ago - when the Spanish first arrived. |