Yucatán at Home’s first issue came out over the summer when throwing parties just wasn’t allowed.
But on Friday, the colorful bi-monthly magazine that focuses on architecture, design and daily life in Yucatán, finally threw a launch party for a few dozen advertisers and supporters. Yucatán at Home is published by Mérida-based Roof Cat Media, which also produces Yucatán Magazine.
With Issue 3, it was a good time to finally raise a toast to Yucatán at Home,” said the magazine’s publisher, Lee Steele.
During a brief speech, Steele introduced the editor, Carlos Rosado, “who has been there for me since the beginning.” Creative director Eduardo Vazquéz was also credited for helping shape the magazine in the “early, early” days. Both men were people Steele said he wanted to work with on a project, well before he knew what the project would be.
Vero Garibay, who was Roof Cat’s web editor, “but really so much more,” has moved on to other things, “and we wish her well,” said Steele. Marketing manager Yesica Benitez “really needs a title change because she quickly became the strategic brains of the operation,” Steele told the crowd of about 60 attendees.
Steele recalled that when the magazine was a mere prototype, he got support from Mérida’s publishing community, including Juanita Stein, an editor and owner of the bookstore Between the Lines. Andrea Mier y Teran at Yucatán Today and Caro Molina at Dolce magazine were also encouraging when he went to them for advice about a year ago.
“I remember I reached out to you in the very early days as well. To you both I nervously showed you a rough rough rough prototype of the cover, with bad Spanish translations, and you were nothing but sweet and supportive as well. What a community we have here. Thank you,” Steele said.
The party was hosted by Greg Casini, owner of Casa de las Torres, who suggested it was time for a party. The home is featured in the current issue of the magazine.
“We’re all here because one thing we all have in common is a love for this place, and the first thing that draws people like me in is seeing how people live in their homes,” Steele remarked “We have collectively figured out how to ‘adult’ here. How to build for ourselves homes that are not only beautiful, but also intriguing in some way, near everything but with privacy, and filled with art and imagination. We wanted to mirror that love in a magazine, something that not only gave inspiration through photographs and illustrations, but told the stories of the people who moved here, and creative people who shape the culture.”
