I first saw San Simón on the altar of a local curandera here, Paty Zacarias.

Paty has a very interesting altar, as most curanderos and curanderas do, but what particilarly drew my attention was a small statue of a man with a cigarrette pressed up against his face. I asked her who that was, and she said that it was San Simón. I asked why he had that cigarrette there, and she said that "you have to give him a cigar" ('puro'). I supposed that she had her reasons for having substituted a cigarrette - and I suppose I was even thankful for that!

I have attempted to do some research on San Simón, and most of the information on the internet seems to point to a folk saint in locations such as Santiago Atitlan, and Zunil, Guatemala, alternately known as Maximon, which is the hispanicized spelling and pronunciation of a Mayan name. San Simón, is, then a syncretic folk saint, who is given a veneer of Catholic legitimacy but has solidly Indian roots. He is said to be connected with the cult of Nagualism (where the practitioners supposedly change into animal forms), according to some commentators, albeit it should be pointed out that most commentary which refers to that practice centers around Nahua speakers (Aztecs) as opposed the the various Maya subtribal groups.

All of this history and linguistic scholarship aside, San Simón has another life, so to speak, completely outside of Guatemala and the realm of Indian practices, in that he is part of a sort of "mojo" type of charm or spell in Mexico, where he is used by curanderos and curanderas such as Paty who have no connection to Guatemala, and no idea of what goes on there, and who probably would prefer to not even hear about it, I am quite sure. Curanderas generally believe that things are either connected to God or to the devil, and seeing as this one purports to be a saint, then he must be allied with God. That would be their logic. I do not know of any special prayers that are used, but, for any wouldbe do-it-yourselfers of curaderismo spells, I would recommend the standards - the Credo, the Padre Nuestro, the Ave Maria, and the Magnifica. I will include complete instructions by request.

I am not sure, exactly, what people ask for with San Simon. I forgot to ask Paty for whom she was doing that spell and what their aim was. I am pretty sure it must have been something material - probably bingo. However, I have to say that a lot of people who have bought these statues from me have used them in order to help people stop smoking, amazingly enough, and they swear that this works.

From Fausto's Art Gallery in Ojinaga, Chihuahua.
(Shipped from Presidio, Texas)