Tezcatlipoca or ‘Smoking Mirror’ Mask

"For the Aztecs Tezcatlipoca represented celestial creativity and divine paternalism. He was the soul of the world, the creator of sky and earth, the lord of all things, both powerful and arbitrary. He was also the patron of all men who were rich - nobles, leaders, warriors and merchants - and probably the most ‘important’ god in the Aztec pantheon."  Julia Flood/Mexicolore

The mask that impressed me the most is the one that represents the god Tezcatlipoca . He was one of the main creator deities. Knowing that the base for the mask is a human skull provokes a feeling of fear in me. This mosaic is made of materials brought from the farthest regions of the Mexica empire which makes me think that Tezcatlipoca was very important and divine deity. I associate this mask with sacrifices so to me it has very dark , mysterious and fearful appeal. The blue turquoise and the black straps make it look beautiful and at the same time scary. I would definitely fear someone who wears that mask. In fact the priests that performed sacrifices  wore that particular mosaic. I imagine it made the victims feel even more dreadful on their "stairway to death".  

Maya today

I am deeply saddened by the fact that discrimination towards Maya people still exist. There are over six million Maya people living in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize and parts of Southern Mexico. They are considered indigenous and many of them are being mistreated.
The story of Marta, a illiterate Maya woman, tells us about her unfortunate fate of a housemaid. The family she worked for in a town close to Guatemala City forced her to sleep in a wooden shack with no door among tools and dirty laundry. She was also not allowed to use the inside bathroom instead was forced to take shower in the yard. She was as well a victim of regular verbal abuse by her employer. He was telling her that she is useless and dirty woman and she must be grateful that he had given her a job. Mistreatment of indigenous domestic workers  is considered normal   in these Central American countries where Maya people still remain.
We live in the 21st century where telecommunication plays a big role in people's lives. I was amazed when reading that the indigenous community in Chiapas, Mexico was denied phone service. United States, Germany and Switzerland were having hard time communicating with their coffee growers from Chiapas simply because they did not have phone service. That was so because the phone company did not want to install phone lines in the indigenous communities.
In 2002 in Guatemala the Congress passed a law that classifies various forms of discrimination, including racism as a crime. However, it is very hard to prove a case of discrimination because the law requires a testimony of a witness and in most cases it is extremely hard to find one.
I wish that the Maya people were treated with the respect they deserved, being the inheritors of one of the most successful and developed civilizations of the Ancient World.