Why Is Coca-Cola Used in San Juan Chamula Rituals?

Visitors often hear a simplified story that “Coca-Cola is sacred in San Juan Chamula.” The reality is more complicated.

Academic research confirms that commercial soft drinks, including Coca-Cola and Pepsi, have become part of some social, religious and healing-related practices in Los Altos de Chiapas. But there is no single simple explanation, and it is misleading to say that Chamula “worships Coca-Cola.”

Quick answer

Is Coca-Cola used in rituals? Yes, soft drinks are documented in social and religious practices in Chamula and nearby Indigenous communities.
Did it completely replace pox? No. Research describes partial substitution in some contexts, while pox continues to have ceremonial importance.
Why was soda incorporated? Researchers point to a mix of ritual adaptation, social prestige, commercial availability and local political/economic history.
Is the church “dedicated to Coca-Cola”? No. That is a sensationalized description of the Templo de San Juan Bautista.

Last verified: August 24, 2026.

What researchers actually document

A peer-reviewed ethnographic study on food, power and Indigenous communities in Chiapas notes that commercial soft drinks became important in everyday life, social exchange and religious contexts in Los Altos.

Another study focusing on diabetes and soft-drink consumption among Maya communities documents soda being used:

• as a sign of friendship or respect;
• in social agreements and exchanges;
• in some Catholic-syncretic ceremonies and offerings;
• as part of certain healing rituals;
• sometimes as a substitute for pox or wine.

These uses are broader than one church and cannot be reduced to one tourist anecdote.

Did Coca-Cola replace pox?

Only partly, and not everywhere.

Research describes some ritual contexts where soft drinks took over roles previously associated with pox, while other ceremonies still use pox.

The change is connected not only to religious meaning but also to changing social practices, the commercial expansion of bottled drinks and local economic/political relationships.

For the background on pox itself, see What Is Pox (Posh)?.

Why do visitors see soda inside the church?

Inside the Templo de San Juan Bautista, families conduct their own prayers and rituals. Soft drinks may appear alongside candles, flowers and other offerings or ritual materials.

Visitors should not treat this as a performance or attempt to photograph it. Photography inside the church is prohibited.

See Responsible Travel in Indigenous Communities.

What about the “burping removes bad spirits” story?

This is one of the most repeated explanations in travel media, but it is often presented as if it explains every use of soda in Chamula.

The academic literature describes a much wider social and ritual role for soft drinks. SanCrisGo therefore does not present one dramatic explanation as the complete meaning of the practice.

The economic side matters too

Anthropological research also discusses how soft-drink distribution became connected with prestige, commercial power and local political relationships in Los Altos.

That history is important because ritual adoption did not happen in isolation from the rapid expansion of the bottled-drink market.

A better way to understand it

Instead of asking “why do they worship Coca-Cola?”, a more accurate question is:

How did a modern commercial drink become incorporated into older and changing social and ceremonial practices?

That question allows for religious, economic and historical explanations at the same time.

Related guides

• What Is Pox (Posh)?
• San Juan Chamula & Zinacantán from San Cristóbal
• Responsible Travel in Indigenous Communities
• Tsotsil vs Tseltal

Sources

• Estudios de Cultura Maya / SciELO — food processes and power in Indigenous Chiapas
• LiminaR / SciELO — soft drinks and diabetes among Maya communities
• Secretaría de Cultura — San Juan Chamula

Last verified: August 24, 2026.