Mayan Queen

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="388" caption="Sweet Victory"][/caption]

Upon returning to Santa Cruz I went straight to the tunelón, a cavernous multi-use space with a great arched roof of corrugated metal that used to be an armory. That evening there was to be a competition to select the next Mayan Queen of Santa Cruz Del Quiché and Enlace had named its own Petrona Tzul as its candidate.

After a long introduction on the part of Jenny and another MC, each candidate went along a catwalk to a stage at the front of the arena walking in a dancy sort of way that I soon learned was called "estampa foklórico". Next, they each performed a routine with the help of some peer, highlighting particular aspects of Mayan life and culture. After that, they began to each give a speech. As the speeches were in K'iche' and there were quite of few candidates, I decided to leave after two of them.

The next morning I learned that Petrona had won!