Highland Chiapas colonial town — Maya markets, amber, coffee, pozol, and colonial churches painted in mustard and ochre
San Cristóbal de las Casas is a colonial highland city in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, Mexico, at 2,200 metres elevation — a city of cobblestone streets, colourful colonial facades (churches painted in ochre, rose, and mustard yellow), indigenous Maya markets, and one of the richest craft and textile traditions in the Americas. It is the cultural capital of Chiapas, a state with the highest percentage of indigenous population in Mexico — Tzotzil and Tzeltal Maya communities surround the city, and their members walk into the market daily to sell textiles, amber (Chiapas has the largest amber d…
The city was founded in 1528 by the Spanish conquistador Diego de Mazariegos, named after Bartolomé de las Casas — the Dominican friar who became famous as the most prominent Spanish critic of the brutal treatment of indigenous peoples in the New World (he was appointed 'Protector of the Indians' by the Spanish Crown in 1516). The city served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala (a Spanish colonial administrative region covering much of Central America and Chiapas) until Guatemalan independence in 1821, when Chiapas voted to join Mexico rather than Guatemala. The indigenous Maya communi…