Mérida

By Allen Cox

The Maya city of Tihó once stood where Mérida stands today. In the early 16th century, Spanish invaders laid a relentless 14-year siege to Tihó. The Maya fiercely defended their city, but it finally fell; defeated survivors were forced to build their conquerors a new city out of the rubble of the old. In 1542, the colonial city of Mérida was born of Maya stones, sweat and blood.

Evidence of the conquest is still visible throughout Mérida’s historic center. Stones inscribed with Maya motifs are imbedded on the south façade of La Iglesia de Jesús on Parque Hidalgo, giving silent testimony that they once graced the temples of other gods. After more then 400 years, the most telling artifact still stands above the door of the conquest-era Casa de Montejo facing the Plaza Mayor: relief sculptures depicting Spaniards in full battle armor trampling Maya heads under their boots. The Maya figures in the sculptures appear to be crying out in pain: some believe the Maya artisans who created them willfully fashioned the wailing figures in an eternal scream so their voices would never fall silent.

Today’s Mérida, the official and cultural capital of the Yucatan, is a vibrant, urban center where traditional Maya and contemporary Mexican cultures overlap. Even though its population has exploded to almost one million, the city retains a friendly atmosphere that welcomes visitors and invites exploration.

The vast municipal market, a few blocks from the Plaza Mayor, is a maze of stalls and shops that beckon visitors to spend the day browsing. After dark, people head outdoors, and the Plaza Mayor, Paseo de Montejo, Parque Hidalgo and Parque Santa Lucia are the spots to be seen. On many evenings, the latter offers free concerts, dance performances, or public readings by nationally renowned poets. In the city’s graceful historic center, streets are lined with colonial-era mansions that have been carefully restored to house stylish boutique hotels, restaurants serving Yucatecan and international cuisines, shops, galleries, museums and private residences.

The city experienced a post-colonial building boom in the 19th century, a time when wealthy hacienda owners built European-style mansions along the Paseo de Montejo, making Mérida the “Paris of the Tropics.” One of the most opulent of these mansions, a grand Italianate structure, now houses the Museo de Antropología e Historia, a must-see, displaying artifacts and exhibits on pre-conquest Maya civilization.

Not only is Mérida itself a fascinating and lively city to visit, but some of the most important archaeological sites in the world lie only a few hours away. Among them are Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, Kabah and Edzna. No visit to Mérida would be complete without a day or overnight trip into the surrounding countryside to explore the ruins. The nearby pueblos of Maní, Ticul and Izamal give visitors a first hand view of small town Yucatán life and the more traditional lifestyles of the Maya who live there.