Photos

Another image of the Santo Tomas Church in Chichicastenango, this one from the top of the steps.
This Church is probably the most important in the Maya cultur. The neighboring building is where the Popol Vuh book ("K'i ché" bible containing the creation story involving the hero twins) was discovered in 1702.
Inside the Church there is the Maximon Statue (pronounced "Mashimon"). He's the mischievous spirit of the Mayan Highlands...and he's more adorated than the Catholic symbols.
He's a local deity also know as Hermano San Simon, "Brother Saint Simon Peter." Maximon is actually a pre-Columbian Mayan god of the underworld formerly known as Maam ("grandfather"); his modern name is a conflation of Maam and Simon. Many say he represents in some part a deification of Pedro de Alvarado, the brutal would-be conqueror of Guatemala, but this seems a preposterous fantasy of the conqueror class since there is hardly anyone the Maya of Guatemala (whose warrior hero is Alvarado's opponent Tecun Uman) would be less likely to deify.
Contemporary images do not depict the deity himself, but rather a life-sized carved wooden statue of the god dressed in 20th century clothing. He is portrayed as a mustached man seated outdoors at a crossroads, wearing a black suit, red tie, and wide-brimmed hat (similar to the one in the image), he's smoking a big havana.
He's called also the Drunken & Smoker Saint.
Maximon symbolizes male sexual power. As an "opener of the way," his feast day falls at the onset of the fertile rainy season, but except for that day, his dark "trickster" aspect leads his devotees to carefully guard his visage from public view, for fear that his sexuality may run rampant. Despite the hostility of the Catholic church, which has tried to identify him with Judas Iscariot, in many Guatemalan villages Maximon is still worshipped with offerings of tobacco, money, beers, ruhm, whiskey, Coca Cola, and a tropical plant with orange-red berries.
In all the Guatemala Highlands there are Maximon Statues, the most important is close to Santiago Atitlan, on the Panajachel Lake.
Incense and perfume dedicated to him is scented with the citrus odors of lemongrass, citronella, and sweet orange, and the man in the image is exactly did that.

The Santo Tomas Church was the location of the 1999 movie "Stigmata" with Gabriel Byrne, Patricia Arquette and Jonathan Pryce.

*scanned image*

The Guatemala Files:
The Wait
San Pedro
United Colors of Guatemala
Under the God eyes!