A shrine to Mayan deity and folk saint, Maximón, in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala.
Maximón, also called San Simón, is usually depicted as a man in a suit and hat, who wears colorful garlands and scarves. But in some parts of Guatemala he wears sunglasses and a bandanna.
Maximón is a fascinating, complex deity, and a mixture of light and dark – for example, he’s represented as both a womaniser and a protector of couples.
This shrine in Santiago Atitlán changes location annually, but locals always tend to the statue’s needs in the same way – giving him bottles of booze, lighting his cigarettes, and draping colourul scarves around his shoulders.
I feel priviliged to have witnessed such an unusual and intimate ritual while in Guatemala.
