One of the more telling footnotes in Yucatán’s political history involves not a palace or a prison, but a pair of columns that stood at the northern edge of Mérida for barely a decade — long enough to be photographed, not long enough to be remembered. In 1928, Gov. Álvaro Torre Díaz marked the opening…
Local television arrived late to Yucatán. Very late. On January 31, 1963, when XHY-TV Canal 3 flickered to life in Mérida. The station—now known as SIPSE Televisión—became the first broadcaster in the entire Yucatán Peninsula and southeastern Mexico. Even if you had a television at home, it wasn’t a constant source of entertainment as it…
Eduardo Urzaiz Rodríguez arrived in Yucatán as a teenager from Cuba and spent the rest of his life proving that a place can adopt someone the way it adopts the important things—quietly, and for keeps. Over the next six decades, he became one of Mérida’s most influential modernizers: a physician who pushed medicine forward, an…
The old henequén railway routes that once transported green gold from Yucatán’s haciendas to Mérida today serve a new purpose.
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…
The state honored the memory of Felipe Carrillo Puerto this week, 102 years after his execution by firing squad. The socialist governor remains one of Mexico’s most influential revolutionary figures, though his time in office lasted just 20 months. Carrillo Puerto was born in Motul in 1874, the second of 14 children in a modest…
Thousands marched through the Centro Histórico on Wednesday as Yucatán marked the 115th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. The annual Revolution Day parade brought over 5,000 participants to Mérida’s streets for a two-hour and 10-minute spectacle that showcased the discipline of security forces alongside the energy of school contingents. Marchers wound their way from the…
Most Walmarts around the world aren’t known for their beauty, and most architects wouldn’t brag about having designed one. Mérida’s first Walmart is a little different. Most shoppers hurrying through the parking lot of Mérida’s Paseo de Montejo Walmart barely notice the weathered sculpture standing quietly among the palm trees. But this unassuming artwork tells…
While ancient Maya civilization laid the foundation, the 20th century truly shaped the modern Peninsula.
The year 1761 was supposed to be like any other in colonial Yucatan. Spanish rule had been firmly established for over two centuries, and the Maya people seemed resigned to their fate as laborers on vast haciendas. But in the small village of Cisteil, near Sotuta, a extraordinary man was about to change the course…
The Mexican Revolution may have ended in 1920, but its transformation of the country continues today. It was the defining event of modern Mexican history. Its influence extends far beyond textbooks, touching everything from the ejido farm cooperative system, which still comprises nearly half of all farmland in Mexico, to the murals that decorate public…
The Gran Museo del Mundo Maya in Mérida kicked off a week-long celebration of International Day of Indigenous Peoples on Friday with traditional music, artisan markets, and ancient Maya ball game demonstrations. The festivities began at 10 a.m. with the opening of U K’iiwikil koonol, an artisan bazaar featuring work from communities across Yucatán’s interior….
Twenty years after it opened, the Korea-Mexico Friendship Hospital treats children today while building connections that may benefit both nations for future generations. A modest pediatric hospital in Mérida, Hospital de la Amistad Corea-México represents two decades of medical diplomacy. The facility opened its doors on July 6, 2005, marking a milestone commemorating Korean immigration…
The city of Mérida has begun meticulously restoring the distinctive red cobblestone streets surrounding the historic La Ermita de Santa Isabel park. The rehabilitation covers 2,894 square meters (about 0.7 acres) and includes Calle 66 from 77 to 79, Calle 77-A between 64-A and 66, and Calle 77 between 64-A and 66 — encircling the…
In the heart of Yucatán’s “Yellow City,” the Convento de San Antonio de Padua stands as both a testament to colonial grandeur and a monument to neglect. Built between 1549 and 1561 atop the ruins of the Maya temple Ppap Hol Chac, this Franciscan convent boasts an atrium second in size only to the Vatican,…
All about the man whose name lives on through Mérida’s largest public hospital, 140 years after his death.
Teachers in Yucatán blocked a highway and the airport, and are now camping out on Mérida’s main square. Here is the conflict, in context.
In the crisp morning air of Feb. 1, 1928, Yucatán Gov. Dr. Álvaro Torre Díaz stood proudly before a crowd gathered to witness a revolutionary moment in Mérida’s urban development. Marking the second anniversary of his administration, the governor inaugurated the José Dolores Patrón Workers’ Colony — a neighborhood that today is nestled among some…
Few people in history can be said to have had a legacy as consequential as Gonzalo Guerrero, the Spanish Conquistador who turned Maya chief and father to a new people. Significant gaps exist in what we know about Gonzalo Guerrero’s life, but what we know is remarkable, considering the man lived 500 years ago. From…
Progreso’s maritime pier, the longest in the world, turned 80 last weekend.
The curtain rises on a new cultural space, honoring the memory of Yucatecan musician and composer Guty Cárdenas. Guty Cárdenas — Casa Memoria showcases the legacy of this 1920s icon, who is still remembered for songs like “Caminante del Mayab,” “Nunca,” and “Rayito de sol.” Guty Cárdenas was known as “The King of Yucatecan Song,”…
The long-running conflict over the Mayaland Hotel within the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá has led to serious allegations of corruption, legal irregularities, and abuse of authority. The dispute began in 2020 when hotel owner, entrepreneur Fernando Barbachano Herrero, agreed to sell the Mayaland hotel to businessman Rodolfo Rosas Moya for nearly US$20 million. According…
School-age children in Mexico learn that the Mexican Revolution kicked off in 1910 and ended with the signing of the constitution of 1917, thanks to the battlefield victories of Emiliano Zapata and Francisco Villa — both of whom would be assassinated in the following years. Or did it? There’s a case to be made that…
Despite the powerful cultural influence of American media in Mexico, another nation has held sway over Mexicans’ imaginations for generations—Japan. Japanese TV shows, mostly animated series known as anime, entered the Mexican market in the 1980s due primarily to the low costs of their broadcasting rights. The media landscape in the 1980s and early 1990s…
That’s all for now
That’s all for now