Quick summary: The Rabinal Achí, also called Xajooj Tun, is a Maya dance-drama performed every January 25 (Saint Paul’s day) in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. In 2027 that is a Monday. UNESCO proclaimed it in 2005 and inscribed it on its intangible heritage list in 2008. It was not performed in 2025. In 2026 it returned, with activities scheduled from January 23 to February 1 and five scheduled performances on January 25, starting at 09:00. The 2027 schedule is not published (checked September 29, 2026). Every schedule time below is from 2026; the bus times are from 2017.
The Rabinal Achí is a 15th-century Maya dynastic drama, danced in masks with music and spoken dialogue. It tells the story of the capture, trial and execution of the K’iche’ warrior. It is performed in Rabinal on a fixed day: January 25, the feast of San Pablo. You can plan around that date now. The hour-by-hour program comes much later: in 2026 Prensa Libre published it on January 17, eight days beforehand.
Quick facts
| Date | January 25, every year (San Pablo). In 2027, a Monday |
| Place | Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. In 2026: Iglesia del Calvario, the colonial church atrium, the Capilla del Señor del Cabildo and the San Pablo and San Pedro cofradías |
| Other name | Xajooj Tun |
| UNESCO | Proclaimed 2005, inscribed 2008 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| 2025 | Not performed: costumes and props needed renewing, and there were not enough volunteer performers (Prensa Libre) |
| 2026 activities | January 23 to February 1, 2026 (Prensa Libre, from the Mi Rabinal schedule) |
| 2027 schedule | Not published as of September 29, 2026 |
| Entry fee, tours | We have no source for either, so we do not state one |
What the Rabinal Achí is
UNESCO’s listing describes it as a dynastic Maya drama that developed in the fifteenth century and a rare example of preserved pre-Hispanic traditions, expressed through masked dance, theatre and music. The main characters are two princes, the Rabinal Achí and the K’iche’ Achí. They are joined by the king of the Rabinaleb’, Job’Toj, and thirteen eagles and thirteen jaguars, the warriors of the fortress of Kajyub’. The K’iche’ Achí is captured and put on trial for trying to steal Rabinaleb’ children, which UNESCO calls a grave violation of Maya law.
Guatemala’s Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes calls it “una fiesta andante que retrata la captura, el juicio y la ejecución del guerrero K’iche’ Achí”. In other words, it is a procession-style feast that moves through town, not a single show on one stage. The Ministry says the dancers are accompanied by the town’s 16 cofradías, the local religious brotherhoods (Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, January 26, 2026).
Why it matters to the town, in UNESCO’s words: “By taking part in the dance, the living enter into “contact” with the dead, the rajawales, represented by masks”.
On the age of the story: Prensa Libre wrote that it recounts events from 800 years ago in the Zamaneb valley, today’s Rabinal. The Ministry describes a piece more than eight centuries old. Those are their figures. UNESCO’s own dating is that the drama developed in the fifteenth century.
Why January 25, every year
UNESCO: “Since colonization in the sixteenth century, the Rabinal Achí dance has been performed on Saint Paul’s day on 25 January” (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage). The Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes says the same thing in Spanish: “Desde la colonización en el siglo XVI, el Rabinal Achi se representa cada 25 de enero, en el marco del día de San Pablo”. January 25 is also Rabinal’s patron-saint feast.
That fixed date is the only 2027 detail you can rely on today. January 25, 2027 is a Monday.
The 2025 gap, and the 2026 return
In 2025 the dance did not happen. In November 2025, Prensa Libre reported that it was not performed at the January 2025 San Pablo feast. The costumes, masks and props needed replacing, and the group was short of performers: the dancers are volunteers, and some could not take part for economic reasons. In January 2026 Prensa Libre summed it up as “luego de no presentarse en el 2025 por dificultades económicas enfrentadas por quienes resguardan esta manifestación”.
UNESCO flags the same risk on its listing: it says the tradition is especially threatened today by the precarious economic state of its custodians and of the community as a whole.
In November 2025, INGUAT delivered new costumes to the group at the Rabinal municipal hall (Prensa Libre). On Sunday, January 25, 2026, the dance was performed again. The Ministry reported that its vice-minister of cultural and natural heritage, Laura Cotí Lux, and INGUAT director Harris Whitbeck attended.
The 2026 schedule, a pattern and not a 2027 promise
Prensa Libre published the 2026 program on January 17, 2026, working from the schedule made public by the page Mi Rabinal. In its words, “Las actividades están programadas del 23 de enero al 1 de febrero del 2026”. The table below lists the rows as Prensa Libre published them. The newspaper added a note that it was not responsible for cancellations or changes.
| Date (2026) | Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri Jan 23 | 07:00 | Dance performance | Iglesia del Calvario |
| Fri Jan 23 | 08:00 | Accompanying the Cultura Viva Rabinalense parade | Iglesia del Calvario to Parque Central |
| Fri Jan 23 | 14:00 | Dance performance | Atrium of the colonial church |
| Fri Jan 23 | 16:00 | Dance performance | Cofradía del Diezmo de San Pedro |
| Fri Jan 23 | 20:00 | Dance performance | Cofradía San Pedro |
| Sat Jan 24 | 06:00 | Dance performance | Cofradía San Pedro |
| Sat Jan 24 | 10:00 | Accompanying the San Pedro procession | Toward the Cofradía San Pablo |
| Sat Jan 24 | 14:00 | Accompanying the San Pedro and San Pablo procession | Toward the colonial church |
| Sat Jan 24 | 20:00 | Accompanying the San Pedro and San Pablo procession | Chapels of the four barrios |
| Sun Jan 25 | 09:00 | Dance performance | In front of the Capilla del Señor del Cabildo |
| Sun Jan 25 | 10:00 | Dance performance | Atrium of the colonial church |
| Sun Jan 25 | 12:00 | Dance performance | Cofradía San Pablo |
| Sun Jan 25 | 14:00 | Dance performance | Incoming Cofradía San Pablo |
| Sun Jan 25 | 20:00 | Dance performance | Cofradía San Pedro |
| Sun Feb 1 | 18:00 | Closing prayer of the seven days | The director’s house |
How to read it: in 2026 the dance was scheduled at several sites across town, starting on January 23. On the main day, January 25, the first performance was scheduled for 09:00 and the last for 20:00. In November 2025, Prensa Libre described the day in general terms: about seven performances of two hours each on January 25, and, because not every character has a stand-in, a day of up to 14 continuous hours. It also reported that seven Maya ceremonies are planned beforehand at sacred sites. The published 2026 table lists five performances on January 25. Treat both as descriptions of past years.
For 2027: the date will be a Monday, not a Sunday. Do not assume the 2026 hours carry over. The 2026 schedule was published on January 17, 2026; we will re-check for the 2027 one around January 10, 2027.
Getting there
Rabinal is in the department of Baja Verapaz, whose capital is Salamá. Our Guatemala City bus terminals guide lists Trans. Unidos Bajaverapacenses for Salamá, San Jerónimo, Rabinal and Cubulco. In 2017, Guatemala.com reported buses every half hour to Salamá and Rabinal from 05:20 to 17:45, leaving from the Centra Norte transfer centre (km 8.5, Carretera al Atlántico). That is a 2017 schedule, so confirm it before you travel.
What we deliberately do not tell you: a bus fare, a journey time, an entry fee or a tour price. We have no current, dated source for any of them.
Practical notes
- Book the date, not the hour. January 25 is fixed. In 2026 the program was published eight days ahead.
- It is a religious and community event. In 2026 the schedule moved between churches and cofradías, and the dance is accompanied by the brotherhoods and their images, according to the Ministry. You are a guest at a patron-saint feast, not at a staged show.
- Pair it with the rest of January. See the January ferias calendar and the Rabinal town page.
Common questions
When is it? Every January 25. In 2027, Monday, January 25.
Is it UNESCO-listed? Yes. It is on the intangible heritage list: proclaimed 2005, inscribed 2008.
Did it happen in 2025? No. It returned in 2026 after new costumes were delivered in November 2025.
Is the 2027 schedule out? Not as of September 29, 2026. In 2026 it appeared on January 17.
Related
- Rabinal: the town, its feast days and basics
- Baja Verapaz: the department around it
- Salamá: the department capital on the way in
- Ferias in January: every January patron-saint feast, by department
- Guatemala City bus terminals guide: which terminal serves Baja Verapaz
Sources: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, Rabinal Achí dance drama tradition (read September 29, 2026); Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, January 26, 2026; Prensa Libre, November 15, 2025 and January 17, 2026; Guatemala.com, January 11, 2017 (bus schedule, dated).
