Fire Dancers, Palenque, Mexico

El Panchan, Don Mucho’s

One of the most impressive fire dancing performances I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing! This troop from Chiapas, Mexico tore it up every night at El Panchan, the little hippie encampment just outside the Mayan ruins of Palenque. They performed at the local restaurant, Don Mucho’s which serves as El Panchan’s central meeting grounds. In addition to providing great live performances from both local bands and this fire dancing troop, they also served up great food at affordable prices. Unfortunately, at the time when these photos were taken  my Spanish speaking skills were extremely limited! Alright, so they’re not that great now, either! 😉 But I would have liked to know and learn more about the performers! They seemed to really have an extra element of uniqueness to their performance. Fire dancing can typically be pretty similar and routine, but these guys kept it fresh and exciting.

All-in-all, I highly recommend visiting the Mayan ruins of Palenque! And the place to stay when you are there, without a doubt, it El Panchan! 🙂 Great vibe, great community, perfect location right next door to the Palenque park entrance. I would really recommend the small hotel in El Panchan called Margarita and Ed’s. Superb little rooms and cabañas tucked away in the jungle. They are rated number one on Trip Advisor for a reason! 😉 The lady who runs the place (Margarita) is super sweet and very accommodating!