Maximón

How to recognise Maximón

1. Seated wooden effigyLook for a carved wooden figure about one metre (4 ft) tall, usually seated on a chair, honoured as a venerated image.
2. Carved faceA wooden face with a moustache, whose expression Santiago accounts describe as watchful rather than kindly or fierce.
3. Black hatA wide-brimmed black hat crowns the figure.
4. Silk scarvesMany layers of colourful silk scarves are piled at his neck and shoulders, and one account suggests they may once have been feathers.
5. CigarA cigar or cigarette rests in a hole carved in the wooden lips, since tobacco is both an attribute and an offering.
6. OfferingsCandles, flowers, cigars or cigarettes, and bottles of aguardiente or rum gather around him, and money is pinned to his scarves and hat.
7. The telinelIn Holy Week the telinel of the Cofradía de la Santa Cruz carries him as his symbolic 'horse'.

Names and titles

• The Great GrandfatherRilaj Mam, the Tz'utujil title of respect meaning great elder or great grandfather
• Guardian of the Tz'utujilHe is described as the protective guardian of the Tz'utujil people of Santiago Atitlán
• Opener of the WayA role in which petitioners ask him to clear obstacles
• Carved from the Tz'ajte' TreeTz'utujil tradition says the shamans carved him from the sacred tz'ajte' tree, which agreed to become his body
• Carried Through Holy WeekThe telinel carries him through the streets and in the Good Friday procession

Feast days

• Feast of San Simón / Maximón28 October, every year

  The feast of San Simón, kept on the Catholic feast day of Saints Simon and Jude, is the birthday of the folk saint also called Maximón or Monchito. The Catholic Church does not recognise this devotion.

  How it's celebrated. Pilgrims from across Guatemala and neighbouring countries come to the temple in San Andrés Itzapa, a Kaqchikel town in Chimaltenango. They bring candles, cigarettes and liquor, and spiritual guides perform cleansings with herbs, cigar smoke and spirits. Marimba music and fireworks mark the day. Devotees ask for help with health, love and business and leave plaques of thanks.

  Sources: Tico Times: Guatemala's Annual San Simón Celebration · Prensa Libre: Fieles celebran a San Simón en San Andrés Itzapa · MiMundo: Maximón and the Worship of Saint Simon

• Fiesta Patronal of Santiago Apóstol25 July, every year

  The patronal feast of Santiago Apóstol (St James the Apostle), patron of Santiago Atitlán. It is the town's own festival, not Maximón's, though the town's cofradía tradition, which includes Rilaj Mam, forms part of the ceremonies.

  How it's celebrated. The fiesta includes a procession of the image of Santiago Apóstol, with incense, band music and fireworks. Cofrades and their wives walk in ceremonial dress, and prayers use an old, formal style of speech. The festivities also include the choosing of a lake queen and a Tz'utujil indigenous queen. Cofradía rites during the week are community observances, not public shows.

  Sources: Plaza Pública: Fiesta patronal · Guatemala.com: Fiesta patronal de Santiago Atitlán · AtitlanVida: Santiago Atitlán Fiesta 2027

• Palm Sunday28 March 2027

  Palm Sunday begins Holy Week. In Santiago Atitlán it opens the week in which devotees of Rilaj Mam move his image between cofradía houses. Sources are less specific about what happens to him on this day itself.

  How it's celebrated. Accounts describe a procession of women carrying palm leaves and flowers, with an image of Christ on a donkey. Another guide places a procession from the convent to the church in the evening, with the week's first Mass. Fruit arches are already up and the cofradías are preparing. The cofradía keeps its own schedule for moving Rilaj Mam, and visitors are asked to watch quietly.

  Sources: Ann Murdy: Semana Santa in Santiago Atitlán · Growing Up Bilingual: Semana Santa in Santiago Atitlán · AtitlanVida: Semana Santa 2027

• Holy Wednesday31 March 2027 (date to be confirmed)

  Holy Wednesday in Santiago Atitlán is the day Rilaj Mam (Maximón) is brought out of the cofradía house and carried through the streets to his chapel. It follows the washing of his garments in the lake on Monday and their drying on Tuesday.

  How it's celebrated. Crowds gather in the narrow streets awaiting the cofradía's shaman bringing the image out in his arms. Fruit is presented at the municipal building in the morning, and one report says Rilaj Mam first visits the municipality before going to his chapel. A 2026 report says that year he did not enter the municipality, for the first time. Accounts vary in detail.

  Sources: Prensa Libre: Celebran la fuerza del Rilaj Mam · Prensa Comunitaria: Rilaj Mam, el protector del pueblo Tz'utujil · Growing Up Bilingual: Holy Week at Lake Atitlán

• Good Friday2 April 2027

  Good Friday is the day of the Santo Entierro procession, which carries the image of the buried Christ. In Santiago Atitlán Rilaj Mam joins it, which devotees see as two traditions meeting in the same streets.

  How it's celebrated. The Señor Sepultado, in a glass coffin, leaves the church along streets covered in alfombras. Rilaj Mam follows from behind, carried on the shoulders of the cofradía's telinel and dancing to rattles and drums. One report says he returns to his cofradía when the procession ends. Another says this happens on Easter Sunday.

  Sources: CRN Noticias: Cristo y Rilaj Mam se cruzan en procesión · Prensa Libre: Celebran la fuerza del Rilaj Mam · Growing Up Bilingual: Holy Week at Lake Atitlán

• Easter Sunday4 April 2027

  Easter Sunday, the Christian feast of the Resurrection, ends Holy Week. In Santiago Atitlán some devotees keep it alongside the rebirth of Rilaj Mam, and it marks the close of his Holy Week cycle.

  How it's celebrated. Easter Sunday in Santiago Atitlán is described as lighter and more celebratory, with an early Mass and fireworks. One guide says Maximón leaves his chapel to return to his cofradía for the rest of the year. Another says he returns after the Good Friday procession, so accounts differ. A visitor describes the people celebrating Christ's resurrection alongside the rebirth of Rilaj Mam.

  Sources: Growing Up Bilingual: Semana Santa in Santiago Atitlán · Ann Murdy: Semana Santa in Santiago Atitlán · AtitlanVida: Semana Santa 2027