Mérida Closes Mejorada Street for Arts, Food
Mérida is giving one of its oldest neighborhoods another reason to stay past dark.
A new program called Distrito Mejorada starts Thursday, June 25, on Calle 50-A, alongside La Mejorada park, between calles 57 and 59. The one-block stretch will close to vehicle traffic at 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, creating a pedestrian space for music, art and food.
The street was first highlighted by the city when the Camino de Flores exhibition drew crowds in pre-Pandemic days.
La Mejorada sits just a few blocks northeast of Plaza Grande, Mérida’s main square, and is anchored by a 17th-century church and former convent. The surrounding barrio also holds cultural centers, museums, a music school and a university campus, but it has drawn less foot traffic than other parts of the Historic Center in recent years.
City officials are positioning the new corridor as an extension of Corazón de Mérida, the municipality’s broader push to revive landmark public spaces and boost downtown commerce.
“We want families to find more reasons to enjoy Mérida while supporting those who live and work in this area,” said Mayor Cecilia Patrón Laviada.
Each day of the corridor will carry its own theme. Thursdays bring live music around 7 p.m. performed by students from the Universidad de las Artes de Yucatán, known as UNAY. Fridays feature a bazaar organized by students from the Centro de Capacitación Laboral, a public vocational school. Saturdays bring flea-market-style stalls selling antiques and used books, and Sundays revive the Jardín del Arte, an open-air art market.
Restaurants along the corridor — such as Vana and Los Almendros — will be allowed to set tables and chairs out in the street during all four days of programming, giving the neighborhood’s small eateries a chance at more outdoor business. City officials also plan to extend Mérida’s Biciruta bike route into the area, connecting it to other car-free corridors already running through downtown.
La Mejorada’s revival has been building for years. Restaurants and bars have slowly filled in around this historic barrio, helped along by its proximity to Gran Parque La Plancha, a large park project a few blocks to the north. The city has also restored some of the area’s colonial-era landmarks, including the Arco de Dragones near the park.
No cost estimate for Distrito Mejorada has been released, and the city hasn’t said how long the program will run beyond its June 25 launch.
Fast facts: Distrito Mejorada
- What: A new pedestrian corridor and weekend cultural program in Mérida’s La Mejorada neighborhood
- Where: Calle 50-A, between calles 57 and 59, next to La Mejorada park
- When: Thursdays through Sundays, starting at 5 p.m., beginning June 25
- Thursdays: Live music around 7 p.m., performed by UNAY students
- Fridays: Bazaar organized by Centro de Capacitación Laboral students
- Saturdays: Flea market with antiques and used books
- Sundays: Jardín del Arte open-air art market
- Restaurants may set up street-side seating all four days
- Part of the city’s larger Corazón de Mérida revitalization effort
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
