What is "parachico"

The Parachico or Parachicos are traditional dancers from Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas, Mexico, who dance on the streets of the town during the Great Feast festivity, which takes place from January 15 to 23 every year. The festivity takes place in honor of the local patron saints Our Lord of Esquipulas, Saint Anthony Abbot and Saint Sebastian.It is claimed locally, as many of the Catholic festivals are, in Latin America, to have its roots in the much older indigenous culture. So it has developed into a hybrid of old indigenous culture and newer Catholic and Spanish cultures. The church where the festival concludes is home to an old tree, which is said to represent the "tree of life" (drawing on Maya and other pre-hispanic Latin American cultures), which is claimed locally to predate the church, which would suggest that this site was used for ceremonies before the arrival of Catholicism. Honouring the mother of the cured boy (for the feast) is also locally explained, why on certain nights during the festival, the town's men dress as women and parade through the streets.

The festivities, which include Roman Catholic religious ceremonies, music, dancing and local cuisine, have been included in UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists on November 16, 2010, listed as "Parachicos in the traditional January feast of Chiapa de Corzo".