A Grandson’s Fond Memories of the Hacienda at Uxmal

I have fond memories of many haciendas, including weddings for friends and families. But the closest to my heart is Hacienda Uxmal, where my grandfather worked as a tour guide.

My family connection with Hacienda Uxmal goes even further back, as my grandfather, Humberto Rosado Espínola, worked for the Barbachano family, which owned this hacienda and several others, and spent much time on the grounds and the nearby Uxmal archaeological site.

Unlike most haciendas that operated into the 20th century, Hacienda Uxmal was abandoned around the time of the Caste War, an indigenous uprising that began in the mid-1800s and ended in 1901. So much of its original architecture remains in ruins, with the “modern” hacienda being built once tourism to Uxmal began to trend upward in the 1940s.

My grandfather passed in 1988, when I was 7, but I remember watching him doodle ancient structures, and sitting on his lap as he showed me his cameras and would tell me, “Carlitos, ten cuidado, son muy delicadas, ya las usarás cuando seas más grande.” His prediction — that I would be using those cameras later in life. I also found an even deeper connection to ancient Yucatán, which would eventually lead me to pursue
a PhD in heritage studies.

In 2020, Hacienda Uxmal dedicated a room to him, adorning it with photographs of him at the site. Unfortunately, the dedication had to be canceled, as it was scheduled right at the beginning of the pandemic. Nevertheless, the room was completed and my grandfather is now among famous past guests such as Queen Elizabeth II, Jacqueline Kennedy, Grace Kelly, as well as more contemporary celebrities like Eva Longoria and Luis Miguel.

When I was around 5, I began to accompany my dad on some of his tours. Being the adorable kid that I was (not to brag, it’s just a fact), I often charmed the tourists, who back then were most often European.

 The rules at Uxmal were much more lax back then, so it was possible to climb every ancient structure and venture far beyond the confines of the official archaeological site, which more often than not meant I ended up taking piggyback rides on my father’s back or that of a sympathetic tourist.

I remember always being excited when I knew we would be staying at the hacienda. The rooms were always nice, but on a couple of occasions when the hotel was full, we slept on a cot in a broom closet—not that I minded. I was just happy to spend time with my father. Besides, I knew I had the morning buffet to look forward to, which always had bacon and sugary cereals I was not allowed to have at home, except on my birthday or Christmas. The staff would give me a couple of small boxes of cereal to tuck away for the day’s adventure.

On one occasion, my sister and I visited my dad at the hacienda on Halloween. Tourists began stuffing our plastic pumpkin baskets with odd pieces of colorful paper. Having no idea what these little papers were, we started to draw on them with crayons until my father stopped us. They were Swiss francs and Deutsche Marks.

Who knows, perhaps my daughter Emma will be the fourth generation of guides in Yucatán. 

No pressure, honey. 

Mérida native Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a senior editor at Yucatán Magazine.