Yucatán Cultural Identity Remains Strong Despite Migration

'A well-born Yucatecan has not changed his accent, has not traded cochinita or beans with pork for Korean food'

While Mexico City protesters demanded foreigners leave trendy neighborhoods earlier this month, citing gentrification pressures, Yucatán faces similar challenges but with a different response. Local experts say the southeastern state has maintained its cultural identity despite a growing influx of outsiders attracted by lower costs and remote work opportunities.

Anti-gentrification protests turned violent in Mexico City on July 4, with demonstrators vandalizing businesses and chanting “Gringo go home” — and worse. The protests highlighted tensions over rising housing costs blamed partly on an influx of foreign remote workers. But in Yucatán, researcher Gina Villagómez Valdés sees a more complex picture.

“Beyond the profits, with the arrival of new capital, we’re seeing the recovery of old homes in the city’s main square or in neighborhoods with a long history, like Itzimná or García Ginerés,” said Villagómez Valdés, who holds a doctorate in Social Anthropology. “If it weren’t for these investors, the city’s main square would be a ruin.”

The transformation has brought new restaurants, spas, cafes and convenience stores to Mérida’s urban landscape. But unlike Mexico City’s displacement narrative, Villagómez Valdés argues that outsiders haven’t displaced locals from their neighborhoods. Instead, neighborhoods were abandoned as families found it cheaper to move to new subdivisions than repair ancestral homes.

The economic disparity is stark. The average Yucatán State salary in 2024 is just 7,390 pesos per month — about $385 USD, making the region extremely attractive to those earning foreign salaries. Housing costs have responded accordingly, with the average sale price for a home in Mérida’s Centro reaching 3.1 million pesos, or nearly $200,000.

The migration trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic when remote work policies and Mexico’s tourist visa allowing stays under six months without special permits attracted American workers. In 2022, Mexico City issued nearly twice the number of temporary residency permits to Americans as it did in 2019.

What’s unchanged

Yet Villagómez Valdés insists Yucatecan identity remains intact. “A well-born Yucatecan has not changed his accent, has not traded cochinita or beans with pork for Korean food, nor has he stopped attending the Paseo de las Animas or the carnival, and continues to say xik, bobox and tuch.”

The state’s cultural anchor remains strong through traditions like Hanal Pixán, the Mayan Day of the Dead celebrated from October 31 to November 2. The tradition, meaning “food for the souls” in Mayan, differs from Mexico’s broader Day of the Dead celebrations with unique Maya touches. Families prepare elaborate altars with traditional foods like mucbipollo, a large tamale cooked in underground ovens, and welcome deceased relatives back to the world of the living.

“In recent years, Hanal Pixán has not only not disappeared in the face of Halloween, but has actually grown stronger as a response to the pride of local residents,” Villagómez Valdés said. Even fashion has adapted rather than disappeared, with guayaberas becoming “a global trend, even among young people, with new designs and colors, as well as Mayan embroidery on women’s stylized dresses.”

Not all changes are positive. Villagómez Valdés warns that drug trafficking poses a greater threat than gentrification. “You only have to do a field trip in the eastern part of the state to see the increase in crystal meth use,” though she emphasizes this stems from national security problems, not migration.

The researcher also notes concerning influences like norteño music among teenagers and acknowledges problems including rising housing costs, increased fuel prices, power outages from higher consumption, and water shortages.

Mexico City officials announced a 14-point plan Wednesday to address gentrification, including proposed laws to regulate rental prices and prevent displacement. But Villagómez Valdés warns against xenophobic responses.

“Confrontation with migrants is not an option to preserve our identity,” she said. Migration to Yucatán will continue increasing, with nearly 39% of American Gen Z and Millennials planning digital nomad experiences in 2025. “Many Mexicans from other states feel like foreigners in their own country and fail to understand that, in some way, we Yucatecans consider ourselves to be another country.”

Despite challenges, Villagómez sees hope. “The majority of the local and migrant populations have built bridges of communication to coexist peacefully without erasing or altering our own identities.”

To preserve cultural identity, Villagómez insists the key lies in family transmission of values and institutional support. “It is essential not to reduce the resources allocated to the city council’s cultural department. The state government must also promote cultural programs in the municipalities.”

What has disappeared, Villagómez notes, is community cohesion — neighbors who once gathered on sidewalks for evening conversations, supported each other, and shared Holy Week and Hanal Pixán traditions. “That Mérida identity ended with the generations of our parents and grandparents; no one came to take it away from us. It simply transformed over time.”