MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president posted a photo to his social media accounts on Saturday showing what he says appears to be a mythological forest spirit similar to an elf.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not appear to be joking he posted the photo an “Aluxe”, a mischievous forest spirit in Mayan folklore.
López Obrador wrote that the photo “was taken three days ago by an engineer, it seems to be an Aluxe,” adding, “Everything is mystical.”
The night photograph shows a tree with a branch forming what appears to be a fringe of hair and stars forming the character’s eyes.
López Obrador has long expressed his reverence for indigenous cultures and beliefs. Engineers and workers are in the process of building a tourist train that is the President’s pet project in the Yucatan Peninsula.
According to traditional Mayan belief, “Aluxes” are small, mischievous creatures that inhabit 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 adjacent parts of Central America, but descendants of the Maya continue to inhabit the peninsula.
Many continue to speak the Maya language and wear traditional dress, while preserving traditional food, crops, religion and medicinal practices despite the region’s conquest by the Spanish between 1527 and 1546.