Summary
Maximon manages to embody Saint Michael, Simon peter (in reference to the first apostle), Judas (the identity he assumes during Holy Week), the Mayan god Mam, and even the conquistador Pedro de Alvarado.
The cult of Maximon has experienced a parallel unprecedented growth across the whole country, even in the cities, with local variations in ritual. Examination of the cult immerses us in the chaotic history of a country subjected to Spanish conquest, colonisation and, more recently, a brutal civil war, the influx of evangelical groups and the arrival of mass tourism.