After more than two years of hiatus under pandemic protocols, Mérida en Domingo is back. The city’s main square is once again alive with food stalls, crafts, music and dancing every Sunday.
More than that, the city’s daily cultural calendar has been restored after COVID precautions shut it all down in March 2020, officials announced.
Merida on Sunday, as it’s called in English, began in the Plaza Grande in 1985. Over the years, it has gained a reputation for great people-watching, if nothing else.
It’s among a full slate of city-run free public activities that also include Noche Mexicana at the Remate and Yucatecan Serenade at Parque Santa Lucia.
This Sunday’s Mérida en Domingo program includes children’s shows and the regional comedy of Shirley La Chonchita, as well as the Youth Folkloric Ballet with the Vaquería Yucateca, the Orquesta Jaranera and Banda del Ayuntamiento de Mérida and the group Temptación Musical. The shows are from noon until 8 p.m.
On Mondays, the traditional dance performance Vaquería Yucateca resumes outside the Municipal Palace by the Plaza Grande; Tuesdays give way to romantic music in the Martes de Trova program at the Olimpo Cultural Center and couples enjoy ballroom dancing thanks to the Remembranzas Musicales event in Santiago park.
On Wednesdays, the artistic light-and-sound video mapping show, Diálogos del Conquistador, or Dialogues With the Conqueror, is projected onto the ancient walls of the Casa Montejo Museum.
On Thursdays, Yucatecan Serenade invites couples to dance cheek-to-cheek to the sounds of live, romantic music in Santa Lucía park.
Friday continues with another video mapping presentation. Piedras Sagradas, or Sacred Stones, which is projected onto the facade of the Cathedral. The striking sound-and-light program alludes to the construction of the city’s famous house of worship and the founding of the city in 1542.
On Saturdays, the ancient Mayan ball game Pok Ta Pok is demonstrated with costumed players in front of the same cathedral.
Times and dates can change, so it’s best to refer to the official schedules at www.merida.gob.mx/cultura.
