The Mexican president posted a photo to his social media accounts on Saturday showing what he said looked like a mythical jungle spirit.
Apparently President Andres Manuel López Obrador wasn’t joking when he posted a photo of “Alux,” a mischievous forest spirit from Mayan folklore.
The photo was “taken by an engineer three days ago, and it looks luxurious,” López Obrador wrote, adding that “everything is ambiguous.”
The night image shows a tree with a branch forming what looks like a halo of hair, and what could be stars making up the character’s eyes.
López Obrador has always expressed respect for indigenous cultures and beliefs. Engineers and workers on the Yucatan Peninsula, building a tourist train is the president’s favorite project.
According to traditional Maya beliefs, “Aluxes” are mischievous little creatures that live in forests and fields and tend to play tricks on people, such as hiding things. Some people leave small offerings to appease them.
The ancient Maya civilization reached its peak from 300 to 900 AD in the Yucatan Peninsula and neighboring regions of Central America, but the descendants of the Maya continue to live on the peninsula.
Many continue to speak the Mayan language and wear traditional clothing, while maintaining traditional foods, cultures, religion, and medical practices, despite the region’s conquest by the Spanish between 1527 and 1546.
