WITCHCRAFT, SORCERERS AND MAGIC THRIVE IN CATEMACO NEAR MEXICO'S GULF COAST

Brujo capital or tierra de brujos—home of witches and sorcerers. That’s what Catemaco in the state of Veracruz is famous for. It’s one of the reasons we decided to stop there enroute to our new home on the far eastern coast of Mexico, in Quintana Roo, back in 1997. We were not disappointed.  

The six hour drive from Tuxpan took us onto a curving, two-lane road with jungle encroaching on both sides. Vegetation teemed with banana, coffee, and mango trees and small wood-frame houses, set far back from the blacktop, were hidden in the greenery. We followed lumbering service trucks filled high with goods as well as an unmarked black pick-up carrying four armed soldiers sitting at attention in the open bed. The road climbed a thousand foot mountain and eventually brought us to the Catemaco zocalo where a brightly painted yellow church sat on the town square. Sitting on a lake and tucked into the mountains in the heart of tobacco-growing country, Catemaco is a pretty place.

Church on Catemaco Zocalo

In 1912, long cut off from the rest of Mexico, the railroad finally came to Catemaco. Roads connecting it to the rest of the state didn't happen until the 1950s. Some say its remoteness allowed for the development of a unique and spiritual ambience. From pre-Hispanic times, the area became known for sorcery and magic.

While mostly indigenous in the century after the Spanish conquest, due to its remote location, by the 18th century, the area had become a refuge for escaped slaves from Haiti, Africa, and Cuba. They brought with them their spiritual beliefs and customs. By the time European civilization caught up with Catemaco, the Spanish had introduced Catholicism to a population of several native groups blended with various nationalities.

The established group of shamans and sorcerers incorporated Catholic saints and rituals into their magic practices. The area also has long been a center for herbs and potions as plants with curative powers grow in abundance in the surrounding jungle. Catemaco, where indigenous plant wisdom runs deep, is well known for herbal cures and extracts and has provided relief for hundreds of different ailments.

Over the years, herbalists and spiritualists merged. Centuries later, the blend of the two traditions can't be traced back to a single defining moment, but it was apparent that what Catemaco stood for was powerful and unique to the region.

In 1970 Bruno Mayor, or Head Sorcerer of Catemaco, Gonzalo Aquirre, who'd inherited the position from his predecessor Manuel Ultrera, head brujo for decades, took note of this and decided to create something from it.

Though the concept of witches has historically been feminine, the majority of brujos in Catemaco are men. It could be because indigenous and African cultures favor men as spiritual healers. Since 1970, sorcerers of all kinds have united for a national congress of sorcerers of Catemaco. Due to pushback from the Catholic church in 2008, the name was changed to Festival of Magical Rites.

Brujeiras Are Scattered Through Town

The Catemaco festival is not promoted as part of Halloween or Dia de los Metros (Day of the Dead). The main event, occurring the first Friday in March, starts as a black mass on the edge of Lake Catemaco, led by the brujo mayor, or high witch or sorcerer. The annual celebration dovetails with spring equinox and corresponds well with renewal and rebirth rituals. Founded by Gonzalo Aquirre in the 70s, the festival attracts around 200 shamans, healers or curanderos, herbalists, psychics and fortune tellers. It's become a major moneymaker for the city as well as a tourist attraction. Brujerias or magic and herb shops are sprinkled throughout the town, with a wide range of offerings.

Gonzalo Aguirre, 1970s, Founder of Festival

Besides the sorcerers, the pride and joy of the town is its crater lake, a small gem in the midst of the Las Tuxtlas biosphere which encompasses Catemaco. The stikingly beautiful lake was formed by a now extinct volcano. Its set against the undulating Sierra Madre, the mountain chain that runs through Mexico and Central America. City tours include a boat ride and the colony of baboons inhabiting one of the deserted islands are a big draw. Children selling peanuts and bananas swarm about as sightseers prepare to board covered pangas. The lake has a dozen small isles which attract native howler monkeys and white and black herons. The baboons were brought from Thailand decades ago as part of a wildlife experiment sponsored by a local university. When funding ran out, they were left to fend for themselves and learned to eat water lilies and dive for fish. 

Lake Catemaco

Our experience in Catemaco many years ago made it into my travel memoir, Where the Sky is Born: Living in the Land of the Maya. Here's an excerpt: " The next night we stayed at Catemaco, just past Veracruz on the gulf, known for its witches' festival each spring equinox. It was a pretty spot, but from the reaction of the townspeople, they hadn't seen many foreigners. I felt like an oddity. I was approached by a bruja as we walked across the near empty town square. She promised me she was a good witch and would help me.

"Why me? I thought as I looked at this diminutive socreress who wanted to alter my life. I just quit my corporate job after 15 years. We built our dream house in the Yucatán, and now we were going there to relax on the beach. Life is good right now. Why did she have to come up to me? i tried to dissuade her from helping me out with her charms. i wanted no flotsam and jetsam corroding my future. I didn't need a reading, a spell or a potion. 

"I gave her a big smile, pretended i didn't understand her, and walked across the square at a rapid gait with Paul at my side. I'd save sorcery for another time."

And that, dear reader, was my experience at Catameco. We went back to our hotel, freshened up, walked to have dinner on the shore of the lake. We could hear the monkeys howling in the distance on one of the islands. Life was exciting and exotic, and we were a mere two days into our new life, driving towards our dream. 

If you enjoyed this post, check out Where the Sky is Born: Living in the Land of the Maya, on Amazon. My website is www.jeaninekitchel.com. Books one and two in my Mexico cartel trilogy, Wheels Up—A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival, and Tulum Takedown, are also on Amazon. And my journalistic overview of the Maya 2012 calendar phenomenon, Maya 2012 Revealed: Demystifying the Prophecy, is on Amazon.