News From Merida and the Yucatan

Spring 2007

Semana Santa is more than a week this year. For the first two weeks of April, the Yucatan will play host to thousands of vacationing Mexicans from around the country who come to enjoy their vacation in the warm weather.

Passion plays and Easter celebrations will be held in towns and churches throughout the Yucatan. The most well-attended Passion Play is in the town of Acanceh, about 30 minutes outside of Merida. But if visitors don't have a car, they can attend a similar event at the neighborhood church of San Sebastian in the Centro Historico.

Here comes the heat! The first four months of 2007 were characteristically lovely in the weather department. Warm days in the 80's and 90's (Fahrenheit) with cool and breezy nights. With the beginning of April comes the hotter weather. In April and May, Merida and the rest of the Yucatan will be experiencing the hottest (and driest!) month of the year. For details, travelers can find average temperatures, humidity, rainfall and sunlight hours on this webpage from the BBC.

Merida has a new bookstore... and this time the books are in English! Amate Books, already a popular bookstore in Oaxaca, has brought their bookstore full of English-language books on Latino culture, anthropology, history, architecture and art to Calle 60 in the Centro Historico of Merida. The restored colonial space also sells folk art and will soon boast a coffee and snack shop. Amate Books will be holding events at their store, starting with a talk in April by two French anthropologists who lived with the Mayans for many years and who will be talking about Mayan cuisine.

Mother's Day, Día de la Madre, is on May 13 this year and it is a BIG day in Mexico. Restaurants are packed and it will be hard to get into the best ones without a reservation. Mexicans, and Yucatecans are no exception, take their mothers very seriously.

On May 20, Tixkokob, a small town east of Merida near Motul, will be holding its annual fiesta in honor of San Bernardino. The town will be full of people celebrating the day with dancing, eating and enjoying the spectacles. Events include a local corrida (bullfight) where the bull will get chased by anyone willing to get in the made-for-the-occasion bullring, but released back to its owner in the end. At night, there will be a vaquería, a traditional dance by the local people dressed in white huipiles and guayaberas, dancing the jarana, ending with a prize given to the couple that dances the longest.

Vote with your Mouse - Chichen Itza, the most famous of the Yucatan's Mayan Ruins, is being considered to be one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. Thanks to the Internet, now everyone in the world can cast their vote. The new list will be announced in Lisbon, Portugal on July 7, 2007. Cast your vote at

MERIDA HOTELS

For current Merida hotel and resort information including rates, availability and secure on-line reservations please see: Merida Hotels and Resorts