Souls and Breath of Xibalbá

*At Xcaret Park`s Ball Game Court

Xipetotek presents Almas y alientos de Xibalbá [Souls and Breath of Xibalbá]

**A show that teaches us where we come from…and where we`re going

By Alejandra Flores

Souls and Breath of Xibalbá is a play to be presented by Xipetotek that will fascinate audiences in this year`s 3rd Life and Death Traditions Festival at Xcaret Park.

With the Ball Game Court as the backdrop, the players in Xipetotek will bring together different artistic styles in ancient dances. Actors, musicians, step dancers and dancers will bring the uses and customs of modern Mayan burials to us;  they will be our guides during the prayers over the dead and will lead us to an understanding of the symbolic journey of the soul through each of the nine levels of Xibalbá.

According to contemporary Mayan tradition, explain the members of Xipetotek, when a person dies, his body is buried as tradition dictates: his hands are tied over his brest and a little ground corn is placed in his mouth to remember the raw material from which mankind was made. Then the prayers begin, and with them the soul (pixan) awakens to the realization that it is a soul and must detach from this earthly plane to begin its long journey through the underworld.

Juan Pixan is the star character of Souls and Breath of Xibalbá.  We will see his death, burial, wake and the moment when he discovers that in dying, his soul does not go to Heaven but rather to Xibalbá. He will encounter his oldest ancestors, an invitation to remember his origins, his native tongue and his ancient past.

Every day during the four-day celebration of the Life and Death Traditions Festival, Xcaret 2008, Xipetotek will offer a story filled with symbolic elements.  Don`t miss this beautiful and mystical play spoken in Maya and Spanish.  The stage production and choreography are filled with rhythm and vital strength; certainty and conviction are the foundations of its artistry.  Come and find out "where we come from" to know "where we`re going."