I had the good fortune of returning to Chiapas last week following my first visit there in 2018. It was great to become reacquainted with San Cristobal de las Casas, a charming place that essentially seemed unchanged since six years ago.

I recall being somewhat shocked on my first trip to discover San Cristobal is a bustling city, not some rustic hinterland pueblo, untouched by modern influences.

According to the 2020 census, San Cristobal has a population of  215,874 inhabitants.  While the downtown tourist zone has its share of historic sites and throngs of indigenous vendors hawking an astonishing array of artisan goods, the smoothly paved pedestrian andadores are lined with swanky cafés, restaurants and bars, Oxxo stores and Telcel outlets. It’s every bit a cosmopolitan 21st Century metropolis.

In 2003, the Mexican government granted San Cristobal Pueblo Mágico status. By 2010 it was pegged as the country’s most magical of all Magic Towns.   

What exactly is a pueblo? The paperback English dictionary on my bedside table defines the word as a town or settlement with buildings made of stone or adobe. That’s the concept most Anglos take it to be. However, the Spanish meaning is the inhabitants of a place, region or country. It is not a place per se, but rather the common people.

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