ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes not only the event visible to the public, but the planning, organizing and negotiating that went on behind the scenes before and after the fiestas, to understand the transfer of Mayan identity. The most important fiesta symbol, in the United States as well as in Guatemala, is the saint. Three of the celebrations in Indiantown used at least the name of the saint and the date in the church calendar as a grounding point: San Miguel and San Rafael. The Festival Maya Quetzal began near the dates of San Juan/San Pedro and was offered as an alternative to San Miguel. The only use of the candela in all the public rituals was in the procession with the Saint Michael statue at the Indiantown Catholic church.
