Mexico festivals & culture holiday

Reviewed 13 Feb 2008 by Lois Brassart

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?

The owner of the company Jim Kane is AMAZING. Our group consisted of 7 American’s and me the one Canadian. It was a great group, I felt like I was traveling with myself; we all had the same set of values and philosophy to life. Jim had arranged for the most charming person on the ground, Roberto, so knowledgeable and provided us in depth insight into the history of the Maya living in Chiapas as well as anything we wanted to know about current events. Jim also arranged for us to meet Chip Morris author & anthropologist in his home for personal insight into the history of weaving. Chip provided valuable instruction on Mayan Backstrap weaving; as well Chip provided insight when we visited a family embroidery workshop. The Carnival was very exciting, I'm sure we were one of the very few outsiders at this event.

2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?

Make sure to read a couple of the books from Jim's reading list, it will help when you are in Mexico and provide further in-depth information when returning home.

3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?

Most certainly the local people benefited everyone from the women weavers, the staff and writers involved in the handmade paper cooperative, Roberto the guide and Chip the author & anthropologist. We ate in local restaurants, supported local shops and above all followed Jim's lead and honored the indigenous people.

4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?

Jim is an amazing person who not only runs a company but has so much integrity and gives back so much to the people in the areas he is involved in. The following is what I learned in 9 days on my tour. I can't believe how interesting Jim made the tour, I was totally absorbed and can't wait to explore more and more of Mexico and then other areas of South America. Jim and his team peaked my curiosity from the minute I arrived. We studied the life of Mayans, pre the birth of Christ and followed their life right up until today, covering their pinnacle days, the almost complete destruction of their civilization (death by disease and just plain old killing), the loss of land and way of life due to expansion of ranches by outsiders and finally the global destruction of indigenous people happening/ed due to industrialization. Then we moved to the involvement of the Zapatista Liberation Army. They were able to galvanize indigenous, people, interestingly enough made easier by Spanish Dominican Friars, the Friars forced the Spanish to provide a ‘bill of rights’ of sorts for Indians, dictating they are people with souls and must be treated as such. Albeit the life of Indians was not easy, however the Indians with their sense of pride made the Zapatista’s job easier when in 1994 they and Indians stood up for themselves.