The President of Mexico published a photo of a local cryptid

Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador posted a photo of a strange creature sitting on a tree on his official Twitter account. This photo, he writes, was taken by an unnamed engineer several days ago.

This creature is known as “Alux” and it is mentioned in Mayan folklore, including even its image on Mayan ruins. The picture is of poor quality and it is difficult to see something on it normally. It can only be seen that the creature has a head in a white halo with two burning eyes, an arm and a leg with a knee.

The second photo, published by Obrador, shows a piece of bas-relief depicting the same creature. These ruins are located in the Mayan city of Ek Balam in the Mexican state of Yucatan.

Les comparto dos fotos de nuestra supervisión a las obras del Tren Maya: una, tomada por un ingeniero hace tres días, al parecer de un aluxe; otra, de Diego Prieto de una espléndida escultura prehispánica en Ek Balam. Todo es místico. pic.twitter.com/Tr5OP2EqmU

— Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) February 25, 2023

According to the Associated Press, Obrador has a long history of reverence for the culture and beliefs of indigenous peoples. Engineers and workers are building a tourist train in the Yucatan Peninsula, which is the president’s favorite project. This photo was probably taken there.

An alux is a type of sprite or spirit in the mythological tradition of certain Maya peoples from the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala, also called Chanekeh or Chaneque by the Nahuatl people.

Aluxo’ob are conceived of as being small, only about knee-high, and in appearance resembling miniature traditionally dressed Maya people. Tradition holds that aluxob are generally invisible but are able to assume physical form for purposes of communicating with and frightening humans as well as to congregate.

They are generally associated with natural features such as forests, caves, stones, and fields but can also be enticed to move somewhere through offerings.