La Chatona: A Folklore of Benque Viejo Del Carmen, Belize

Tata Duende and La Llorona may come to mind when you think of Belizean folklore, but have you heard about La Chatona? La Chatona is a beloved folkloric character in Benque Viejo Del Carmen Town and other surrounding Western Belize communities. It reflects the enduring cultural traditions and storytelling heritage of Western Belize. 

Petén and Western Belize share a history dating back to the 1500s, with Spanish Conquistadors in the New World. Tipu was a Mopan and Yucatec Maya community near the Macal River. There were many years of successful Maya resistance against Spanish conquest at Tipu. However, after the Spanish conquest of the Itzá Maya in Petén, the Spanish forcibly relocated the Maya of Tipu to Petén in the early 1700s.

In the 1920s and 1930s, many families migrated to San Andres to work in the chicle industry because of its abundance of chicozapote (sapodilla) trees. Petrona and her father came from México for work in San Andres. Some believed that she was from Chiapas or Campeche, México. Her father signed a contract with a company to extract chicle. Meanwhile, Petrona did domestic work, cooking at the camps for the chicleros (chicle extractors).

Petrona became well-known for having a jovial spirit, drinking alcohol, singing, and dancing. Whenever the collecting season would close, the chicleros would return to town to celebrate with music, food, and drinks. Petrona, better known as Tía Tona or the children would pronounce “Chia Tona”, was a sought-after dancer. Everyone looked forward to seeing her so they could join along. She also loved to dress up!

At the end of a collecting season, Tona did not show up for the celebration. Many people suspected that she was bitten by a snake while in the forest. The chicleros were devastated about her absence; they decided to create a giant figure in her honor. They created a female mannequin made from a hollow structure from bayal (a soft, tropical vine), and dressed it in women’s clothing. A man would go under the structure to dance like La Chatona. The figure would be about 7 feet tall.

Don Gumercindo Requena, who was originally from Petén, lived in Benque Viejo Del Carmen. He brought the tradition of La Chatona to the town. Don Luis Lara, the grandson of Don Gumercindo, learned to make La Chatona from his grandfather at age ten.

His grandfather passed away in 1975, but Don Luis reignited his dedication to preserving the tradition in Benque, creating and dancing La Chatona in 1993. The folkloric woman is seen dancing at special events, such as the Benque Fiesta and the Belize September Celebrations. La Chatona dances to the sound of marimba music through the streets of town.

A Mexican woman who worked in Guatemala and has a tradition in her honor in Belize shows the profound cultural connection between the countries, far beyond food, clothing, and music.

Dive deeper into the history of La Chatona and other traditions of the Cayo District with a visit to the Benque House of Culture and the San Ignacio-Santa Elena House.