Spiders and Howlers: Yucatán’s Charming Species of New World Monkeys
Other than human beings, Yucatán is home to two species of primates, these being howler and spider monkeys.
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A Guide to Eating Your Way Through Oaxaca’s Markets
The markets of Oaxaca City are not designed for tourists. They are the city’s working kitchens and warehouses, places where the business of feeding a community happens. To walk through the Mercado Benito Juárez or the sprawling Tlacolula market is to experience the city’s raw ingredients without any filter. This is not to say that…
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The Sacred Mountain: A Conceptual Victim of its Own Success?
Before angry emails flood in, let’s clarify. The sacred mountain interpretation isn’t wrong; it’s overly stretched. The evidence for mountain symbolism at certain sites, especially among the Mexica at Tenochtitlan and at Postclassic Tlaloc shrines, is strong. However, calling every stepped pyramid or large structure a “sacred mountain” without specifying which mountain, which deity, which…
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Conchas: A Guide to Mexico’s Best-Selling Pan Dulce
Conchas (Spanish for “shell”) is a traditional Mexican sweet bread known for its round shape and striped, seashell-like appearance. It consists of two parts: a soft, fluffy bread roll similar to brioche, and a crunchy topping made from flour, butter, and sugar. This topping is scored before baking to create the shell pattern. It is…
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Made in Yucatán: 100+ Years of Hot Sauce, Beer, Cookies and More
Yucatán has produced several well-known brands with long histories, many of which have been continuously operating for well over a century and have become staples across the world. Surely, while reading this list, readers will think to themselves, “How could they not mention X brand here?” So, let us know, and maybe it will make…
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Why Mexico’s Vocho, Once King of the Road, is Now a Collector’s Gem
Its not a fast car, nor a particularly safe one, but for over half a century, the Volkswagen Beetle (Vocho) was the king of Mexican roads.
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A Monterrey Travel Guide for Newbies: Top Attractions, Museums, and Food
After Mexico City and Cancun, Monterrey has the most flights of any other city in Mexico, which means getting there is very easy. This is true not just of other major hubs like Cancun, but also of other cities in the Yucatán Peninsula, such as Mérida and San Miguel de Cozumel. Now, let’s get this…
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Nojpetén, Tayasal, and the Fall of the Last Great Maya City
Nojpetén holds a special place in Mesoamerican history as one of the last Maya polities to remain independent
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Jacinto Canek: The Maya Rebel Who Led His People and Became a Legend
The name of Jacinto Canek is one that most in Yucatán are familiar with. He is widely remembered as a rebel, but as centuries passed, the details of his life and deeds have faded into a symbol rather than an actual person. Jacinto Canek was born around 1731 in the San Román neighborhood of…
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How Sisal Built a New Kind of Beach Economy
Unlike the all-inclusive resorts of the Riviera Maya or the cruise ship crowds in Progreso, Sisal has taken a more sustainable
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What Are Gatitos and Why Are They Falling From the Sacred Ceiba Tree?
When the pods of the great ceiba tree split open each spring on the Yucatán Peninsula, something remarkable happens. Thousands of fluffy white seeds burst forth and take to the air, drifting across roads, fields, and village plazas. Locals have a name for these floating tufts: “gatitos,” which means “little kittens.” The name is fitting. The soft,…
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Nuevo León’s First Pre-Hispanic Museum is Great News, But Far From Perfect
The Museo de los Antiguos Mexicanos, which opened in San Pedro Garza García, on the outskirts of Nuevo León, less than a year ago, is the first museum in Nuevo León dedicated entirely to pre-Hispanic archaeology. This in itself is odd, especially when we consider that Nuevo León is one of the wealthiest states in…
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Mexico’s Baseball Hall of Fame is a Must-Visit
In the heart of Monterrey’s Parque Fundidora, a massive terracotta building houses the country’s most important tribute to baseball. The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano (Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame) opened in 2019, offering a modern alternative to the static, velvet-rope museums that typically define sports history. Here, the exhibits are not just…
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Beyond Rest, the Hammocks of Yucatán Weave Memories and Family Legacy
In Yucatán, the hammock is not simply a place to sleep. For many families, it represents something far more significant.
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Fernando Delgadillo, The Trovador Poet of Everyday Life
Fernando Delgadillo González emerged from the underground SEIMUS Collective in the late 1980s and built a career on his own terms, famously coining the term canción informal (Informal Song) to describe his refusal to conform to commercial record labels’ demands. For over three decades, Delgadillo has remained a significant figure in Latin American folk and…
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The Peón Contreras Theater: Deterioration, Delays, and Broken Promises
Nearly four and a half-years after a fire devastated the Peón Contreras, Mérida’s most iconic venue continues to deteriorate. At the same time, officials have remained silent, and reopening dates keep being pushed back. A commission to restore the Peón Contreras was completed in 2023, but showed no tangible results. On Aug. 15, 2025, the…
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Of Serpents and Deities: The Many Meanings of Snakes in Mesoamerica
In the religious and cosmological systems of ancient Mesoamerica, the serpent was a central and complex symbol. Serpents were not simply animals or singular gods. They represented a spectrum of forces, including creation, destruction, rain, fire, and the sky. One of the most recognized deities in Mesoamerica is the Feathered Serpent. The Maya knew this…
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Ocelots Are the New Invasive Species in Cozumel
Ocelots are experiencing population declines throughout much of their natural range, which stretches from Texas in the United States all the way to Uruguay. In the U.S., they are classified as an endangered species. Ironically, however, on the island of Cozumel, they are viewed not as a species in need of protection, but as an…
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Pedro Infante: ‘Idol of Mexico’ 69 Years After Fatal Crash
Nearly seven decades after a plane crash silenced one of Mexico’s most beloved voices, Pedro Infante continues to draw crowds. On April 15, cultural authorities, families, and citizen groups will gather in Mérida to honor the “Idol of Mexico” on the 69th anniversary of his death—a testament to a legacy that has only grown stronger…
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Our Spoiler-Free Review of ‘La Oficina’ MexicoThis article does not contain plot spoilers for the first season of "La Oficina", but if you want to go in with a complete clean slate, watch the first episode first.
When the Amazon Series “La Oficina” was first announced, it was met with skepticism. After all, Mexican production studios don’t exactly have a stellar reputation when it comes to remakes of beloved foreign TV Shows. How to forget the mess that was Metastasis, a shot-by-shot remake of Vince Gilligan´s Breaking Bad? The main concern regarding…
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Understanding the Meaning Behind the Famous Masks at Kohunlich
The era of construction at what today is the archaeological site of Kohunlich spanned well over a millennium, kicking off during the 3rd century B.C., and wrapping up sometime during the early post-classic period in the 10th century C.E. The ancient city and its ceremonial center remained active until the 12th century C.E., after which…
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How Tiny Ucú Is Becoming the New Frontier for Developers in YucatánA 10-minute drive from Mérida’s Periférico, past the sprawling gated communities of Ciudad Caucel and large industrial parks, lies the tiny town of Ucú, which, as locals tell it, is in “the middle of a war for its survival”.
On paper, Ucú is still a tiny rural town. It is a place of ejidos (communal lands), hidden Maya pyramids, and natural aguadas (freshwater pools) that sustain local wildlife. But the sound of chainsaws and surveying equipment is now echoing through its forests, and the locals say their home is the “next target” of an…
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The Quietest Week in Mérida: Why Easter is the Perfect Time to Explore Your Own City
For many residents of Mérida, the approach of Semana Santa (Holy Week) often conjures images of packed bus stations, fully booked beach resorts, and highways clogged with traffic. It is the period when families across Mexico pack their bags to visit relatives or hunt for sunshine on the coasts. As schools close and thousands of…
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How Yucatán Is Trying to Bridge the Gap Between Speaking and Writing Maya
In Mexico, the Maya language has approximately 800,000 speakers, most of whom live in Tabasco, Chiapas, and the Yucatán Peninsula.
That’s all for now
That’s all for now