News From Merida and the Yucatan

Summer 2007

In July, there will be a gala opening of the long-awaited Museo del Arte Popular de Yucatan, the Museum of Popular Art of the Yucatan. The museum's home is in an elegant renovated colonial that was once owned by the Molina family, Casa Molina, situated on the corner of Mejorada Park next to the popular Los Almendros restaurant. This project has had the backing of the Institute of Culture in the Yucatan, as well as Cultural Banamex, the nonprofit arm of Banamex, and is a welcome addition to Merida's panoply of museums.

Also in the news is Merida's City Museum. Long relegated to a rather dark set of rooms in an old church, the City Museum has been reborn in the renovated Post Office just outside the central market. Part of the street has been cordoned off for pedestrian traffic, and the building has been restored to more than its former glory. The City Museum includes historical exhibits from the city of T'ho and the Spanish Conquest downstairs, a multi-roomed art gallery upstairs and a soon-to-be-opened restaurant on the third floor. You can read more about it and see photos at

Art in Merida is not just for museums! Besides the annual outdoor sculpture exhibit put on by the MACAY museum along the Paseo de Montejo, there are a growing number of art galleries springing up all over town. Santa Ana Park is becoming one center of art, with the Center of Visual Arts (a state-sponsored gallery) on Calle 60 that is now flanked by Luz Gallery with art from Cuba and the Artists in Mexico Gallery, showing art from artists around Mexico. Also in the Centro Historico, two new galleries, Estudio 57 and Galeria Tataya are opening in July, and Galeria Merida will be re-opening in the fall. The Merida art scene hasn't been this vibrant in a long time!

Chichen Itza has been declared one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, and with that distinction will come more tourists and more attention. Local officials have now declared the Castillo off-limits to climbers, returning that iconic symbol to a state of solitude and majesty. The adjoining town of Piste is sprouting new hotels and restaurants in expectation of the influx of visitors over the next few years. The surrounding areas, including especially Merida, Valladolid and Izamal, are also expecting increased tourism based on the new designation.

New Governor - As of August, Merida has a new governor... and she's a woman. Ivonne Ortega, whose face and name are familiar to anyone who visited Merida a few months before the election, comes from a small town outside of the capital called Dzemul. For her first big project, she is going to be considering the feasibility of a light rail system between Merida and Cancun. The next six years should be interesting!

MERIDA HOTELS

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