THE TWO CHIAPAS
CHIAPA DE LA REAL CORONA
AND CIUDAD REAL
DE CHIAPAS
"It is the fog and it is Monday
and it is the day going down from
that yard (San Cristobal
Las Casas, Ambar, Sara Otilia)
going down the bus to
Tuxtla Gutierrez
(fog and cold two thousand
meters over sea level)
going down full of heart my mind
after this readings of Sabines,
Joaquin Pasos, Neruda, Hilda
Doolitle in that yard at seven in a
Sancristobalisima morning"
Date
Joaquin Vazquez Aguilar, 1986
Chiapas identity to the world. There are two fierce lions separated by a great gap, everyone
frisking over two different territory visions, all girded by the power and royalty emblem, the Crown
meaning. This is Chiapas state's arms shield, an image that distinguished Chiapas people and unifies
them.
Since 1535, King Carlos I de of Spain and V of Germany granted this shield recognizing the merits
and sacrifices of the first Spanish settlers of Ciudad Real de Chiapa, now San Cristobal de Las
Casas.
Very little is known about the original design, but the first change done in 1619 is known, appearing
in Historia General de las Indias Occidentales y particular de la Gobernacion de Chiapas y Guatemala by
Fray Antonio de Remesal.
This was the vision of the first conquerors to invent Chiapas distinctive, then historical characters
varied the image to the present version. The Sumidero canyon, impressive geological form, appears over
Grijalva river waters, a landscape overlapping, that supports the lions, that represent colonial Chiapa
two visions, the two Chiapas, meaning and history, that each one yielded to form a name.
La Chiapa de Indios de la Real Corona, now Chiapa de Corzo, has always meant a vivid flow in the
state's history, represented by the colorful festivities that identify Chiapas to the rest of the Country
and the world.
San Cristobal de Las Casas or Ciudad Real de Chiapa, as it was named by Diego de Mazariegos, when
it was found. It gathers political and cultural history, with its patrimonial group of monuments legends,
typical dishes, festivities and diverse traditions.
