The Cult of Maximón

Here’s a second look at the effigy known as Maximón, inside the “Cofradia de San Simón y Maximón” in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala. I tried to uncover the origins of this cult figure in an earlier post with some success. Inside this place, however, is the sacred man himself, in statuesque form – San Simón – and as a blanket-covered effigy – Maximón – all carefully watched and looked after by a different person each year. I like this top shot for the different layers in the image, with the keeper of the house reflected in the lower parts of San Simón’s blanket. The story of Maximón is an interesting slice of modern Maya life on the shores of Lago de Atitlán, in Guatemala’s western highlands.

San Juan La Laguna, Sololá, Guatemala, 2011.