Maya women in traditional dresses or hipiles next to a Day of the Dead altar, Festival de Vida y Muerte, Xcaret. Photo courtesy of Xcaret.

Ancient Beliefs
For the ancient cultures of Mexico, including the Maya and the Aztecs, death was the beginning of an eternal journey to the Underworld and the realm of the death gods. When people died, ground corn was placed in their mouth to sustain them and the body was surrounded by offerings befitting his/her rank, trade or sex, food and their treasured belongings. Nobles were buried with jade jewelry and beads, ornate funeral masks, polychrome pottery, conch and spiny oyster shells, weapons and cinnabar. Servants and dogs and other animals would be killed and buried with their masters to serve and guide them in the afterlife.

Whether the soul traveled to the heavens to be with the gods or the darkest and most distant reaches of the Underworld reserved for those in purgatory depended on conduct during life. Warriors, women who died in childbirth, sacrificial victims, suicides, priests and rulers were destined to dwell in the heavens.

Puente al Paraíso, replica of a traditional Mexican cemetery at Xcaret. Photo courtesy of Xcaret.

The Mayan gods associated with death were Ah Puch, Yum Kíimil, Kisin and Xtab, the goddess associated with suicide. The Aztec goddess of death was called Mictecacihuatl or the “lady of death.”

With the coming of the Spanish friars in the 16th century, ancient beliefs deemed pagan and barbaric were outlawed by the Church. Yet the custom of honoring the dead and one’s ancestors continued and was transformed, becoming a syncretism of pre-Hispanic customs and Catholic ritual. For example, before the Spanish Conquest, Aztec rites in honor of the dead took place at the beginning of August and lasted for a month; with the advent of Christianity, the festival was moved to coincide with All Saints’ and All Souls Day at the beginning of November.

A Journey Through Time
To this day, Mexicans believe that the souls of the dead are permitted to return to earth at this time of year and they welcome them back with joy tinged with sadness. All over the country tombstones are cleaned and given a fresh lick of paint and are bedecked with flower garlands. Masses and graveside vigils are held and special altars are erected to honor the departed.

Altars are intensely personal and although some objects are indispensable, no one altar is alike. Photos and the treasured personal belongings of the deceased, a cross, rosary and the image of a patron saint or the Virgin of Guadalupe are arranged upon the altar against a backdrop of orange marigolds or cempasuchil, red cockscomb, other flowers, and the herb rue, papel picado or tissue paper cutout banners and candles. Aromatic copal incense burns to attract the spirits. Gourds and clay vessels contain offerings of the deceased’s favorite foods and beverages, fruit, honey, chocolate, atole or corn gruel, tequila, mescal or pulque. Salt and water are always present in case the spirits are thirsty. Toys and candies decorate the altars of children, music lovers are remembered with mariachi serenades and cigarettes or cigars might even feature on the altar of a former smoker.

Traditional Day of the Dead Altar, Valladolid, Yucatán

Candles and a trail of petals mark the way home and a smaller offering with food and water is placed outside the house to welcome lost souls. According to tradition, the souls of children or angelitos, return to earth on October 31, the adults on All Saints’ Day, and the family is reunited on All Souls’ Day.

After visiting the tombs of loved ones, families will consume the offerings of food, which often includes tamales, mole, candied pumpkin and pan de muerto, a sugar coated bread flavored with orange water and served with hot chocolate or gruel.

Pan de Muerto and diverse offerings

Traditional Pan de Muerto

Hanal Pixan, Day of the Dead in Yucatan
The Mayan Day of the Dead is called Hanal Pixan, which signifies “feast of souls.” Throughout the Yucatan, families make the pilgrimage to the cemetery to visit the graves of their loved ones and erect altars to honor the souls of children and adults. If the deceased was a happy person who liked to party, the altar will be erected in the yard so that he or she can celebrate without disturbing the living.

Tables laden with offerings of mucbilpollo, large chicken tamales wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit and gourds of tan-chucua, a thick corn drink flavored with crushed cacao beans, pepper and aniseed are set up under the trees outside the house. Pumpkins, squash, corn, bread, fruit, sweets, honey cakes and flowers are added and the candles are lit. Incense burns, prayers are said and as night falls on November 1, the Maya believe that the dead draw near to dine. The next day it is the turn of the living; they eat the mucbilpollo, washing it down with gruel, chocolate or balche, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and the bark of a tree.

Mucbilpollo

Photo: Roving Gastronome – Flickr

During the eight days that the dead return to earth, the Maya abstain from certain tasks such as hunting with guns or sewing so as not to injure one of the wandering souls. Newborn children wear a black thread around their wrists to protect them from any evil spirits that may be near. On the eighth day or ochavario, the dead prepare to depart this earth for another year and new offerings are placed on their tombs to bid them farewell.

La Catrina
Mexicans refer to Death or la Muerte as a woman, giving her nicknames such as La Catrina, La Flaca or La Huesuda (the skinny or bony one). They joke and even write humorous poems called Calaveras about her on the Day of the Dead. The engravings of 19th century artist, José Guadalupe Posada, show Death in different costumes and settings, as an elegant lady with feathers in her hat, a bride or a dancer. Ingenious craftsmen make clay, papier-mâché and wooden Catrinas, skulls and skeletons, including miniatures depicting weddings and mariachi bands. There are even Trees of Life depicting skeletons and Death.

La Catrina

Where to witness the Day of the Dead Festival
Altars are erected in stores, restaurants, schools, government offices and town squares throughout Mexico. And wherever you go, markets and stores are full of flowers, candles, sugar skulls, candies, pumpkins, pan de muerto and other traditional goodies associated with the season.

Visitors to Cancun and Playa del Carmen should visit Xcaret for the Festival de Vida y Muerte (Festival of Life and Death), a poignant celebration of all the traditions associated with this annual event. Held on November 1-2, from 4 p.m., activities include processions, exhibitions of altars, cuisine, music, dance, art, theater, concerts and a visit to the colorful Mexican cemetery. Mayan communities from the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan will be sharing their customs with visitors, through altars, cuisine, crafts and performing arts, including theater. Each year a different state is invited to participate in the festival and this year it is the turn of Tabasco. A delegation of more than 100 dancers, musicians, artisans and other performers will be celebrating the heritage of this Gulf coast state.

Watered by Mexico’s most important rivers, the fertile lowland plains of Tabasco were settled as early as 1700 B.C. by the Olmec culture. The Chontal Maya followed and developed strong trading and cultural ties to central Mexico. The oil-rich state is also the cradle of cacao, a gift from Mexico to the world, and is a major producer of bananas, pineapples, mangos, sugar and seafood. The famous tamborileros, bands of drummers and flautists, will be representing their state at the festival.

Cancun is also staging a Day of the Dead Festival with altars being erected in the square in front of City Hall and in Las Palapas Park. The organizers have invited schools, colleges, hotels and residents who moved here from other parts of Mexico to showcase their Day of the Dead traditions. Groups from Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero and Veracruz are expected to participate.

In neighboring Yucatan, students from schools and colleges in Valladolid erect altars in the main square or outside San Bernardino de Siena Convent. In Merida, local people and visitors stroll along the Corredor de las Animas (the path of the souls), which follows a route along Calle 66 between La Ermita Church and the City Cemetery, and admire hundreds of altars by the light of candles.

Elsewhere in Mexico
Further afield, Mexico’s most famous Day of the Dead celebrations take place on the island of Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, Oaxaca, the highlands of Veracruz and at Mixquic on the outskirts of Mexico City.

Keeping up with Tradition
Guests staying at Royal Resorts can see altars on display at The Royal Market and in other parts of the resorts and can sample the traditional pan de muerto and chocolate or café de olla, steaming hot coffee made with piloncillo or unrefined sugar and cinnamon.

Altar at The Royal Market, Royal Resorts

Thomas More Travel offers tours to Xcaret, and may be able to assist visitors with tickets for the Festival de Vida y Muerte. Trips to Valladolid and Merida are also available.

With dread, chicle harvesters, hunters and farmers tell stories of a slim and beautiful woman dressed in white who appears at night combing her long hair and sitting next to a young green ceiba, the Mayan sacred tree. She lures unwary men deeper into the forest and bewitches them. Once they are completely lost and have forgotten their families and everything they ever knew, she shows herself in her true colors as a snake-like demon, a daughter of Ceibam. She sends her victims mad or kills them on the spot with savage blows, bites and scratches, tearing their chests open. Others are dragged off to hell, never to be seen again.

Young Ceiba tree

In some Mayan communities in Quintana Roo, the inhabitants believe that the Xtabay is actually the guardian of morals rather than a mysterious siren, who mercilessly punishes drunkards, thieves and those who commit violent crimes.

Another version paints a much more forgiving picture of the Xtabay. The story goes that two very different women lived in a village. The first woman, Xkeban (prostitute or loose woman in Maya), was always in and out of love. The villagers said that love and passion were her sickness and that she gave herself to every man that strayed across her path. Her real name was Xtabay. The second woman, who was the darling of the village, lived near her in a neat little house. Her name was Utz-Colel, which means good, clean and decent woman, and she was virtuous and honest.

Despite her reputation, the Xtabay was as good-hearted as she was beautiful. She was generous to the poor and to those in need, cared for animals that had been abandoned and even traveled to distant villages to help the sick.

In contrast, the garments of Utz-Colel hid a terrible secret: the scaly skin of a snake; she was cold and proud, a hard-hearted woman who never helped the sick and despised the poor.

Several days passed and no one saw the Xkeban come out of her house. The villagers assumed that she had gone off on a spree to the villages and thought no more of it until the scent of flowers began to spread through the community, an intoxicating and seductive fragrance that led them to the home of the Xkeban. They went inside and found her lying there dead, alone and forgotten by all.

When Utz-Colel learned what had happened, she exclaimed that there was no way that such a heavenly perfume could have come from the Xkeban’s corrupt body. She said that it must have been the work of evil spirits leading men on. She assured the villagers that when she died, the fragrance would be even more delightful.

Out of pity, the villagers buried the Xkeban and the next day her grave was covered with a beautiful and sweet-smelling flower previously unknown in the Mayab. There were so many flowers that it looked like a heavenly cascade.

Utz-Colel died shortly after and the entire village turned out for her funeral. The grief-stricken mourners extolled her virtues, saying that she was pure-hearted and had died a virgin. Contrary to Utz-Colel’s claims about her perfume, she was not long in the grave when a foul stench began to creep from the earth.

Mayan storytellers declare that the flower that sprang from the grave of the sinner Xkeban was none other than Xtabentun, a wild flower that grows in hedges, along paths and in henequen fields that is used to make the liqueur of the same name. Utz-Colel’s soul was trapped for all eternity in a spiny cactus with a unpleasant smelling flower called the tzacam.

Xtabentun flowers

In this version of the tale, it is not the Xtabay that leads men to their doom in the shade of the ceiba, it is the evil spirit of hard-hearted Utz-Colel, who seduces them with soft words but is as incapable of love now as she was when she was alive.

If you liked this article, read our article about the Aluxes, the spirits that are the guardians of the Mayan milpa or corn field.

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In 1511, a Spanish galleon sailing from Central America and bound for the port of Santo Domingo on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola was blown off course by a terrible storm and shipwrecked on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. A handful of survivors were cast ashore, among them the captain, several women, Friar Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero, a sailor from the town of Palos in Spain.

The castaways were surrounded by a band of Mayan warriors and dragged before the Halach Uinic or ruler of the province of Ecab in northern Quintana Roo. At the urging of his priests and elders, he decided to sacrifice some of them to appease the gods and enslave the rest. Years passed, and one by one the captives succumbed to disease, overwork and harsh treatment. Only Jerónimo de Aguilar and Gonzalo Guerrero survived and when it became clear that their lives were once again in danger, they managed to escape and fled into the forest.

They were soon recaptured by the wood-crafty Maya and became the slaves of another chieftain or cacique, the ruler of Xaman-Há (now Playa del Carmen). Noticing the strength and bravery of Guerrero, he gave him to the ruler of the province of Chactemal (modern-day Chetumal), where the Spaniard gained the trust of the chief and his subjects and became a nacom or Mayan warrior. He also found favor with a beautiful Mayan noblewoman whom he married and they had three children.

In 1519, when the Spanish expedition led by Hernán Cortés reached Cozumel, Cortés heard tales of “bearded men who resembled the Spaniards and who were not from the area, living among the Maya.” He was intrigued and sent messages and a ransom for Jerónimo de Aguilar who was subsequently reunited with his countrymen and served as their translator. Gonzalo Guerrero, however, sent a message to Aguilar saying: “Brother Aguilar, I am married and have three children and they look on me as a cacique here, and a captain in time of war…My face is tattooed and my ears are pierced. What would the Spaniards say if they saw me like this? And look how handsome these children of mine are!”*

Hernan Cortés, Spanish Conquistador

On learning that Guerrero had suggested to the Maya that they attack the 1517 expedition led by his predecessor Francisco Hernández de Cordoba, a soldier who subsequently died of his wounds, Cortés exclaimed, “I wish I could get my hands on him, for it will never do to leave him here.” Left with no choice, Cortés reluctantly abandoned the idea of searching for Guerrero and set sail for the west. In 1521, the mighty Aztec empire fell to Cortés and his handful of soldiers.

Gonzalo Guerrero did indeed turn against his countrymen, knowing that their hunger for conquest, land and riches would lead to the downfall of the Maya. In 1527, the Spaniards turned their sights on the Yucatán Peninsula and the campaign to subdue the population began. Resistance was fierce and in 1536, Gonzalo Guerrero died in battle alongside his warriors in Puerto Caballos, Honduras, as he tried to defend his family and his adopted people. In death he had become a Mayan leader.

You can see statues of Gonzalo Guerrero and his Mayan family in Akumal and Chetumal and a painting by renowned artist Fernando Castro Pachecho on the first floor of the State Government Offices in Mérida, Yucatán.

Statue of Gonzalo Guerrero in Akumal

* From The Conquest of New Spain written by Bernal Díaz de Castillo, a member of the Cortés expedition.

Silence falls as the sombrero-clad musicians take to the stage and in the distance comes the sound of a lone trumpet playing a haunting melody called El Niño Perdido, “the lost child.” Another musician strikes up in response as the mother calls her child. Gradually, the first musician moves closer until the musicians are reunited, at which time all the members of the band join in a rousing and joyous refrain. Meet the mariachis, Mexico’s most famous musicians, the heart of soul of any fiesta, and some of the country’s best-loved cultural ambassadors.

The Mariachi band at Hacienda Sisal

The origin of the mariachi

There are many theories about the origin of the word “mariachi”. Although now refuted, the most popular version for many years was that “mariachi” had its roots in the French word mariage or wedding and that these famous musicians played at weddings during the French occupation of Mexico (1862 – 67). The association of ideas is easy to understand, but the reality is that this theory may have in fact originated as a joke. Today’s linguists and historians suggest that “mariachi” actually comes from the ancient word for the stage or platform upon which dancers and musicians performed during fiestas in the village of Cocula in the state of Jalisco, long before the French set foot in Mexico. In fact, early European visitors to the area reported that the Coca Indian inhabitants of Cocula were talented musicians. During the Colonial period, they adopted musical instruments introduced by the Europeans and began to play in groups, composing songs which often talked about real events and people, and can therefore be identified in historical records. We may never know everything about the origin of the word “mariachi” or the early players, but there is one thing we all agree on: Mariachi is synonymous with fiesta, joy, and above all with a love of Mexico.

You mark the rhythm, and I’ll play the tune…

A typical Mexican Mariachi

A traditional Mexican fiesta just isn’t complete without the music of the mariachis, the songs performed while the audience drinks a toast with a glass of tequila. The musicians make their entrance and as they play the first rousing bars, the party erupts in an outpouring of passion and happiness; some people shout “Viva Mexico”, others do the traditional zapateado or tap dance to the fast rhythm of the guitarrones while the remaining partygoers sing, dance or simply enjoy the celebration. Famous melodies such as La Negra, Las Olas or La Culebra are fiesta favorites and the audience joins the mariachis in song, although these strolling showmen often change the lyrics making them funny or even suggestive.

The original mariachi ensemble was comprised of two violins, a guitar, and the guitarrón and vihuela, two other guitar-like instruments. The trumpet was added later and nowadays mariachi groups without trumpet players are almost impossible to find. Practically all mariachi instruments are made from the wood of the guásima, a tree native to Jalisco. Harps are made from cedar, and the guitarrón is 100 percent Mexican and played only by mariachis. You’ll have no difficulty picking it out – it is the stoutest of the instruments, a characteristic often shared by the man who plays it!

It’s not a question of arriving first; making an entrance is what counts…

The first Cocula mariachis traveled to Mexico City in 1905 to take part in the Mexican Independence festivities, which also conveniently coincided with the birthday of President Porfirio Diaz. In those days, the musicians looked nothing like they do today; they wore the white cotton shirts and trousers and straw hats traditionally worn by Mexican peasant farmers, and not even the more formal garb of the charros or cowboys. In fact, it wasn’t until the 1940s that mariachis spread throughout Mexico and acquired the look we know today. They owe their fame to the Golden Age of Mexican film and movies starring national idols such as Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete. These two actors played the classic Mexican charro: a man who is a loyal, good friend and a gifted singer; and they made their screen appearance in the elegant sombreros and clothing worn by these horsemen on festive occasions. These ornate suits are now and forever associated with mariachis, the very special musicians who have become a symbol of Mexican pride.

Pedro Infante & Jorge Negrete, Mexican legends

From Cocula, mariachis spread throughout the country…

And have conquered the world! Nowhere is their immense popularity more evident than in the International Gathering of Mariachis, which takes place every year in the Teatro Degollado, a beautiful theater in Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco. Inaugurated in 1994, the event has been growing ever since and now attracts performers from all over Mexico and abroad. Apart from the world’s best mariachi ensembles such as the Mariachi Vargas of America, musicians from Italy, Chile, Australia, Canada and the United States have also taken part.

Mariachi Vargas in concert

Mariachis, tequila and tears…

We cannot finish our tale of mariachis without mentioning legendary cantinas or bars such as El Tenampa and El Rincon del Mariachi in Plaza Garibaldi, a famous square in the historic heart of Mexico City, which is now the site of a new museum dedicated to Tequila and Mescal. More than 50 years ago, mariachi musicians and singers based in Plaza Garibaldi began offering their services for parties, serenades and other events, and there are now 3,000 of them working in the area.

Plaza Garibaldi, Mexico

The busiest times of year for mariachis are the days when the entire country is celebrating something, such as Mother’s Day when families hire them to serenade Mom. On this day in restaurants all over Mexico, women sit at the head of a table clutching bouquets and shedding tears of happiness as they listen to mariachis playing their favorite song. Another festive occasion is November 22, Saint Cecilia’s Day, the patron saint of musicians. A statue of the saint is carried from Santa Maria la Redonda, a church overlooking Plaza Garibaldi, to the Basilica de Guadalupe for a special mass. Even more important is December 12, when mariachis accompany hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to serenade the Virgin of Guadalupe in the Basilica in a celebration that kicks off the day before in the early hours of the morning and draws to a close late the day after. And of course, Mexican Independence in September when songs such as Son de la Negra and el Jarabe Tapatio echo throughout the country.

Mariachis in Plaza Garibaldi

Mariachis also have an interesting role in daily life as the messengers of love. Young men still hire them to serenade their fiancées or to win over girls who have caught their eye; while the mariachis perform romantic songs in the street outside the girl’s house, the suitor hides in the shadows gazing up at his beloved’s window. Those unlucky in love seek solace in the cantina, drowning their sorrows in a bottle of tequila and listening to a mariachi patiently play Ella, a classic song about unrequited love and the fickleness of women, by the famous Mexican singer songwriter José Alfredo Jimenez. And when it’s your birthday, the mariachis can always be counted on to strike up another Jimenez song guaranteed to make you feel like a king, El Rey.

Jose Alfredo Jimenez, "El Rey"

Mariachis perform traditional melodies from all over the country, classic ballads and today’s hits, and they can be found everywhere, at weddings, serenades, national fiestas, and churches, on the street and even in graveyards. Mexicans often say, “When I die, I don’t want sad music, bring on the mariachis to play at my funeral.”  In casting out the melancholy, they embrace the vibrant and joyful sound of Mexico’s master musicians.

If you are staying at Royal Resorts in Cancun you can see the Mariachis perform as part of the popular Dinner Shows staged twice a week at Hacienda Sisal restaurant next to The Royal Sands. Don’t miss them and check out our list of Mariachi Favorites.

Mariachi outside Hacienda Sisal

Another excellent place to see mariachis is Xcaret, where they perform in the incredible, colorful and moving evening show called Xcaret de Noche. If you haven’t been to Xcaret yet, Thomas More Travel can help you book your trip to the Riviera Maya’s famous park.

Mariachi band at "Xcaret de Noche" show

50 Mariachi Favorites

We did a poll among Royal Resorts staff and came up with the following Mariachi Playlist, songs are not listed in order of preference and the name of the composer is given. If you ever decide to hire these strolling musicians for a tableside serenade, here are some of our favorites for starters, but ask any of your Mexican friends and they’ll come up with many more!

Why not drop us a line and tell us your favorite Mariachi tune?

• El niño perdido (Luis Pérez Meza)
• Las golondrinas (Zamacois-Serradel)
• Cielito lindo (Elpidio Rámirez)
• Mexico lindo y querido (Jesus “Chucho” Monge)
• Guadalajara (José Guizar Morfín)
• La Malaguéña (Elpidio Rámirez)
• El Sinaloense (Severiano Briseño)
• El son de la negra (Silvestre Vargas & Ruben Fuentes)
• Paloma negra (Tomás Méndez)
• Cucurrucucú paloma (Tomás Méndez)
• Caminos de Michoacán (Bulmaro Bermúdez)
• La bikina (Rúben Fuentes)
• Qué bonito es mi tierra (Rúben Fuentes)
• La Bamba (traditional)
• Granada (Agústin Lara)
• El Rey (José Alfredo Jimenez)
• Ella (José Alfredo Jimenez)
• Si nos dejan (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Media vuelta (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Caminos de Guanajuato (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* El siete mares (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Cuando los años pasen (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Deja que salga la luna (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* El último trago (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Me equivoqué contigo (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Paloma querida (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Que se me acabe la vida (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Que te vaya bonito (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Serenata huasteca (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* Un mundo raro (José Alfredo Jimenez)
* El jinete (José Alfredo Jimenez)
• Cielo rojo (Juan Záizar)
• Cruz de olvido ((Juan Záizar)
• Maldito corazón (Chucho Navarro)
• Pobre corazón (Chucho Monge)
• El Pastor (traditional Huapango melody)
• Mujeres divinas (Martin Urieta)
• El mariachi loco (Román Palomar Arreola)
• Sabes una cosa (Rúben Fuentes)
* Serenata tapatía (Manuel Esperón)
* Ay Jalisco no te rajes (Manuel Esperón)
* Amorcito corazón ((Manuel Esperón)
* Cocula (Manuel Esperón)
* Esos Altos de Jalisco (Manuel Esperón)
* El topetón (Manuel Esperón)
* El charro mexicano (Manuel Esperón)
* Hasta que perdió Jalisco (Manuel Esperón)
* Tequila con limón (Manuel Esperón)
* Me he de comer esa tuna (Manuel Esperón)
• Noche plateada (Manuel Esperón)

Mérida, Yucatán

The fun started on January 5 with the Alborada, a strolling serenade from Santa Lucia Park to City Hall at 11 p.m. in which hundreds of musicians performed songs telling of their love for the city. At midnight the church bells were tolled and the crowds joined in singing the traditional Mexican birthday song Las Mañanitas. On the morning of January 6, local people gather before the altar in San Idelfonso Cathedral, one of the oldest in the Americas, to offer their prayers for their city.

The City Festival features more than 200 events ranging from concerts, theater and dance performances to art exhibitions, cinema and literary workshops, in addition to the traditional weekly musical recitals and folk ballet events staged in the city’s parks and squares. This year, it has attracted 1,000 performers from the Yucatan, different parts of Mexico and from guest country, Colombia. Native son and world-famous singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero will be giving the inaugural concert on January 6. Other highlights include an exhibition at the City Museum titled Merida, Yesterday and Today, showcasing the work of Manuel Lizama, art by Arnaldo Coen at the Centro Cultural Olimpo and two national award ceremonies for short stories (Beatriz Espejo) and poetry (Poesía Mérida 2011) respectively.

The festival program is available on http://www.merida.gob.mx/festival/programas.html

Whatever the Season, Merida

With historic monuments ranging from the impressive 16^th century Cathedral and a collection of colonial churches and convents to 19^th century civic buildings and the palatial residences of the henequen barons along Paseo Montejo, fascinating museums, art galleries and craft centers and a thriving cultural scene there’s always something to see and do in Merida, whatever the season. Be sure to take in some of the evening concerts and folk dance performances staged throughout the year, here’s a listing.

Weekly Events in Merida

Saturday

Fiesta Mexicana

Live music and folk dances from Yucatan and other Mexican states, food and craft stalls.

8 p.m., Calle 47 and Paseo Montejo

Corazón de Merida

Music, dance and open-air dining along Calle 60, the street leading north from the main square where the Church of the Third Order, Peon Contreras Theater, the University of the Yucatan and other landmarks are located.

From 9 p.m. Calle 60

Sunday

Mérida en Domingo

The main square and surrounding streets are closed to traffic for this popular family gala featuring live music and dance performances, trio serenades, art exhibitions, handicraft and food stands.

9 a.m. – 9 p.m., main square and Calle 60. There is also a concert at the MACAY Museum next to the Cathedral from 12 to 1 p.m., a trio serenade at Pasaje Picheta at 8 p.m. and ask about midday concerts of classical music at Peon Contreras Theater during the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra season.

Biciruta

The streets of the historic heart of Merida, Paseo Montejo and those in Barrio San Juan and to Ermita de Santa Isabel are closed during the morning along this five-kilometer bicycle route which will take you past some of the city’s most important monuments.

8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Art on Sundays

Local and foreign artists display and sell their work on Merida’s famous tree-lined boulevard.

9 a.m.  Paseo Montejo

Monday

Vaqueria

9 p.m. in front of City Hall in the main square.

Colorful traditional dances from the Yucatan, including those forming a part in village fiestas called vaquerias.

Tuesday

Big Band Concert

From 8:30 p.m., Santiago Park, Calle 59 & 72

Wednesday

Live music at the Olimpo Cultural Center.

9 p.m., main square

Thursday

Santa Lucia Serenade

Concerts, traditional dances and poetry readings

9 p.m. Santa Lucía Park

Corazón de Merida

Music and open-air dining along Calle 60, the street leading north from the main square where the Church of the Third Order, Peon Contreras Theater, the University of the Yucatan and other landmarks are located.

From 9 p.m. Calle 60

Friday

Serenades in the University of Yucatan courtyard.

9 p.m., Calle 60 & 57

Trio serenades in the main square

9 p.m. Pasaje Picheta

Noches de Leyenda

A two-hour walking tour and theatrical experience in one, scenes from Merida’s history are reenacted in nine different settings. At this time performances are in Spanish.

8:30 p.m., tickets available in Santa Lucia Park.

A repeat performance is staged on Saturday.

Corazón de Merida

Calle 60, the street leading north from the main square is closed to traffic and local restaurants set up tables al fresco in the squares and outside Peon Contreras Theater for an evening of dining under the stars. There’s live music at different points along the route with everything from trios and jazz to salsa on the repertoire.

From 9 p.m. Calle 60

Events are subject to change; when in Merida ask for the current program.

Songs from the Heart, la Trova Yucateca

Wander through the streets of Mérida on any given night and you’ll discover how important music is to area inhabitants, the serenades performed by guitar-strumming trios playing in the squares and serenading diners at local restaurants are the very essence of trova, the music of the Yucatán.

Trovadores in Mérida

The Yucatán Peninsula is the gateway to Mexico and its ports have always been the stepping off point for musical influences, all of which were absorbed and transformed by local performers. Musicians from Colombia, Cuba and Central America contributed their own rhythms and styles and the end result was trova.

Trova is actually a blend of three musical genres: the bolero from Cuba and the bambuco and claves from Colombia, and its romantic lilting melodies owe a great deal to the Maya, the Spaniards and to Africa via Cuba and Colombia. The ballads are tender and somewhat melancholy, pure poetry set to music.

The most famous composers and performers of trova yucateca are the legendary Guty Cárdenas, Armando Manzanero and José Antonio Méndez, whose repertoires include songs such as “Somos novios” (“We are lovers”), “Nunca” (“Never”), “Contigo aprendi” ( “I learned with you”) and “Tres regalos” (“Three gifts”), all of which are now classics.

Don’t miss these strolling trio musicians in Santa Lucía square every Thursday at 8 p.m. If you are interested in learning more about trova music, why not visit the museum dedicated to the history of these romantic ballads and local composers, Museo de la Cancion Yucateca, Calle 57 No. 464-A x 48. Open: Tuesday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Trips to Merida

House in Paseo Montejo, Mérida

Thomas More Travel offers day trips and overnight stays to Merida. If you plan to rent a car and make your own way there, Merida is 320 km/200 miles from Cancun and the drive takes around three and a half hours by car on the toll road and four hours or more depending on traffic on Highway 180. Flights also are available from Cancun.

Through the adoration of the Three Kings, Jesus was revealed to the world as the Son of God. Hence the name Epiphany, which is derived from the ancient Koine Greek word epiphaneia, meaning “to show or make known,” “to reveal,” “appearance,” or “manifestation.”  Different churches have their own observances and as the Eastern Orthodox Church holds to the Julian calendar as opposed to the calendar used by the Western church, it celebrates Epiphany or Theophany on January 19 and commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.

Actors representing the Three Kings or Tres Reyes Magos

There are many traditions associated with Epiphany to remind one of the Three Wise Men, Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar, their long journey from the east following the star that led them to the lowly manger in Bethlehem, and the caskets of gold, frankincense and myrrh they brought Jesus Christ. Mexico, Guatemala and other Latin American countries share customs that originated in Spain and were introduced by missionaries during the Colonial period. Known as El Día de los Reyes or Día de Reyes or Día de los Reyes Magos, this is the day that many children still receive their gifts, rather than at Christmas.

In Spain children (and many adults) polish and leave their shoes ready for the Kings’ presents before they go to bed on the eve of January 6. Sweet wine, nibbles, fruit and milk are left for the Kings and their mounts – always depicted as a horse, camel and elephant. In the morning, children wake up to find their gifts from the Wise men.

The day is also marked by processions in towns and cities across the country and a traditional cake called Roscón de Reyes (King’s Cake) is also served. Many other countries have their own recipe for this cake associated with the festival of Epiphany, for example in France, Belgium and Switzerland, a galette/gâteau des Rois is served during the Christmas season and in Portugal it is known as a Bolo Rei. In the U.S. state of Louisiana, where French influence is still very much in evidence, king’s cake is associated with the start of the Carnival season and Mardi Gras.

Kings cakes often have a small trinket inside as a symbol of Baby Jesus, and the person who gets a slice of cake with one of these has various privileges and obligations (such as buying the cake for the next celebration).

Artistic representation of The 3 Kings

Epiphany in Mexico – Día de Reyes and Rosca de Reyes (Kings Cake)

In Mexico, it is traditional for children to leave their shoes, along with a letter for the Three Kings telling them how good they have been all year and what toys they would like to receive, by the family nativity scene, the Christmas tree or by their beds on January 5. In Mexico City, children often tie the letter to a balloon and set it free to float towards heaven, while in rural areas, they may fill their shoes with hay for the kings’ steeds and leave a bucket of water for them, so that the wise men will be generous with their gifts.

Rosca de Reyes (King's Cake)

In the morning, the children wake up to find their presents. Later in the day, families and friends gather to drink Mexican hot chocolate or atole (a sweet drink made using corn flour) and eat the Rosca de Reyes, a delicious cake shaped like a ring, topped with dried fruit and a sugar glaze to resemble a crown encrusted with jewels. The cake contains several tiny plastic or porcelain dolls that symbolize Baby Jesus. The fact that the figures are hidden in the dough is said to represent the secrecy needed to protect the child from murderous King Herod and the knife used to cut the cake is a reminder of the grave danger that he was in.

The little plastic dolls stuffed inside the Rosca de Reyes

Candlemass in Mexico

One by one, guests take turns to cut the cake and the tension mounts until all the dolls are found. According to tradition, those with a doll in their slice of cake must host a dinner or party with festive fare – traditionally tamales – on the Día de la Candelaria or Candlemass Day, February 2.

Tamales, a traditional and delicious Mexican treat

In many parts of Mexico, a figure of the Christ child is also taken to church in a basket adorned with flowers and candles on Candlemass Day.

Rosca de Reyes Recipe

We at Royal Resorts know how much our members and guests enjoy our recipes. Here’s a recipe for a delicious Rosca de Reyes that you can enjoy at home. Enjoy!

Rosca de Reyes
The Royal Resorts Recipe

Ingredients:
· 4 eggs
· 32g yeast dissolved in cold water
· 80g margarine
· 900g flour
· Baking powder 10g
· Egg white and sugar glaze 18 g
· 130g sugar
· 390g dried fruit (such as candied orange and lemon peel, angelica, cherries, figs, quince, prunes, etc.)

Cream the margarine, add egg and yeast mixture and stir well. Fold in sifted flour and baking powder, stir and knead until the dough forms. Cover and leave to rest in a warm place until it doubles in size. Form a ring with the dough and place on a baking tray. The number of dolls hidden in the rosca depends on the number of people expected to share the cake.

Bake at 280˚C for 60 minutes.

Sprinkle with the dried fruit and sugar and brush with the glaze. A few drops of orange flower water may be added to the sugar glaze.

Did you liked this? Check out how we celebrated Christmas in Mexico.

Nativity plays or Pastorelas were introduced to Mexico in the 16th century by Jesuit priests who used them in their missionary work with the Aztecs, Maya and other native cultures, hoping that the music, dance and pageantry would help them win hearts and minds. They relate the Nativity Story and the adventures of the shepherds as they journey to pay homage to Baby Jesus. Angels and demons vie for their souls, representing the eternal battle between good and evil, but the plays always have a touch of comedy with the Devil being ridiculed and losing in the end.

A traditional Mexican Pastorela or Nativity play

Posadas are parties that traditionally take place from December 16 to 24 and symbolize the journey of Mary and Joseph and their search for lodging in Bethlehem. The guests at the posada split into two groups: the pilgrims and the hosts. Holding flickering candles, the pilgrims walk along the street, knocking on doors and singing a song asking for lodging. Twice they are refused admittance, but on the third attempt, they finally reach the house selected to be the “inn,” after several rousing verses of the song and the reply from the homeowners, they are invited in for supper and the festivities begin.

Traditional Mexican Posada

The traditional posada menu features ponche, a hot drink made with fruit (oranges, guava, tejocotes or crab apples, among others), spices such as cinnamon, sugar cane, water and a dash of rum or cognac; tamales and buñuelos or sweet fritters.

A cup of Ponche with Tejocotes or crab apples

Mexican families gather to celebrate the birth of Christ on Nochebuena or Christmas Eve. They eat dinner late in the evening and many still attend Midnight Mass or Misa de Gallo. The menu varies from region to region and from house to house but popular dishes are bacalao (salted codfish), sprigs of a plant called romeritos served with shrimp cakes in mole sauce, roast turkey, ham or a leg of pork. A crisp, tangy salad with apple, cabbage and candies is traditionally served.

No posada or Christmas Eve party is complete without a piñata or brightly colored figure made of papier mâche and tissue paper and filled with goodies, and after supper children line up to take their turn to hit the swaying, suspended likeness of a star, cartoon figure or animal. They are blindfolded and rely on directions from the chanting crowd to help them in their task. Finally the battered piñata bursts open, showering the ground with candies, tangerines and nuts and there is a mad dash to grab as many Christmas treats as possible.  The air echoes with the sounds of exploding fireworks set off to herald the newborn king.

Girl hitting a Piñata at a Posada

Artistic representation of a Posada with Piñata

The Christmas tree decorating the home may be a European tradition, but the bright red poinsettia plant or nochebuena used to such spectacular effect inside and outside the home is Mexican. Prized for its medicinal properties by the Aztecs, the striking shrub was used by Colonial missionaries to add color to their Nativity celebrations and is now a seasonal symbol the world over.

Nochebuena flowers

The festivities continue on New Year’s Eve with a family dinner. On the stroke of midnight, everyone eats 12 grapes and makes a wish, one for each chime of the clock and month of the year. This custom dates from the days of the early Spanish vineyards when wine growers would pray for a good harvest.

January 6 or Día de Reyes has a special meaning for Mexican children – it is the day that they traditionally receive gifts from the Three Kings. Families and friends gather to drink hot chocolate and eat the Rosca de Reyes, a delicious cake in the shape of a ring, topped with dried fruit and a sugar glaze and containing several tiny plastic dolls to symbolize Baby Jesus.

Actors representing the Three Kings or Tres Reyes Magos

One by one, guests take turns to cut the cake and the tension mounts until all the dolls are found. According to tradition, those with a doll in their slice of cake must host a dinner or party with festive fare – traditionally tamales – on the Día de la Candelaria or Candlemass Day, February 2.

Rosca de Reyes or Three Kings Cake

Christmas Crafts

If you are in Mexico in the run up to Christmas, why not pick up some unique decorations for your tree or an eye-catching Nacimiento or Nativity scene.

Nacimiento or Nativity scene at The Royal Islander

Nacimiento or Nativity scene at The Royal Caribbean

Craftsmen all over the world take pride in depicting the Nativity but nowhere more so than in Mexico where cultural diversity, access to varied raw materials and innate creativity result in an array of masterpieces. Nativity scenes come in all shapes and sizes and feature Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus in his manger, the angel, oxen and a donkey, along with some uniquely Mexican additions: agaves, cacti, turkeys, sheep and even pigs.  Some scenes are extremely elaborate and include a cast of dozens – the shepherds, the animals in the stable, the woodcutter and the Star of Bethlehem.

Small Nativity scene with clay figures

The tradition is thought to have originated in Italy in 1223, with St Francis of Assisi who honored the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi with a tableau featuring real people. The custom spread throughout Christendom but with china and wood figurines replacing actors. Spanish missionaries introduced the nacimiento to Mexico during the 16th century.

Mexican craftsmen make their Nativity scenes from glazed and unglazed clay, which can be painted in bright colors, gilded or left au natural; carved and varnished wood, copper or beaten tin plate, woven rushes and rattan. Other ingenious creations call for cornhusks, sugar cane leaves, vanilla pods, cloth, cut tissue paper and painted bark paper. Look for wax sculptures, glass, onyx, stone and even silver filigree work. They can be found throughout the country, but Tlaquepaque and Tonala in Jalisco, Jacona in Michoacán, Guerrero, Tlaxcala and the state of Mexico are renowned production centers. The colorful ceramic Nativity scenes made in the Yucatán depict the Baby Jesus in a Mayan thatched hut or a hammock.

Nativity scene figures

Once you have chosen a Nativity scene, it’s time to look for Mexican decorations for your Christmas tree. They range from glass spheres sprinkled with glitter to hand-painted clay figurines of portly ladies and gents, mariachis and piñatas from the Yucatán; burnished black pottery cherubs crafted from barro negro and hojalata or tin angels, birds and poinsettia flowers made in Oaxaca. You’ll also find carved jicaras or gourds and exquisite Huichol beaded eggs to hang on your tree, wooden miniatures, plaited straw wreaths, bells and flowers and angels made from cornhusks.

Finally, for a truly festive dinner table, choose a hand-woven tablecloth and napkins in Christmas colors or pure white linen and lace from the state of Aguascalientes and combine them with embroidered mats and table runners from Chiapas. Mexican glassware, silver cutlery and candelabra set the scene to perfection. And of course, vanilla, organic coffee, honey, chocolate, chili, wine and tequila are a welcome addition to any pantry.

Maya women in traditional dresses or hipiles next to a Day of the Dead altar, Festival de Vida y Muerte, Xcaret. Photo courtesy of Xcaret.

Ancient Beliefs

For the ancient cultures of Mexico, including the Maya and the Aztecs, death was the beginning of an eternal journey to the Underworld and the domain of the gods. Ground corn was placed in the mouth of the deceased to sustain them and the body was surrounded by offerings befitting his/her rank, trade or sex, food and treasured belongings. Nobles were buried with jade jewelry and beads, ornate funeral masks, polychrome pottery, conch and spiny oyster shells, weapons and cinnabar. Servants and dogs would be killed and buried with their masters to serve and guide them in the afterlife.

Whether the soul traveled to the heavens to be with the gods or the darkest and most distant reaches of the Underworld reserved for those in purgatory depended on conduct during life. Warriors, women who died in childbirth, sacrificial victims, suicides, priests and rulers were destined to dwell in the heavens.

The Mayan gods associated with death were Ah Puch, Yum Kíimil and Kisin and Xtab, the goddess associated with suicide. The Aztec goddess of death was called Mictecacíhuatl or the “lady of death.”

With the coming of the Spanish friars in the 16^th century, ancient beliefs deemed pagan and barbaric were outlawed by the Church. Yet the custom of honoring the dead and one’s ancestors was transformed and became a syncretism of pre-Hispanic customs and Catholic ritual. For example, before the Spanish Conquest, Aztec rites in honor of the dead took place at the beginning of August and lasted for a month; with the advent of Christianity, the festival was moved to coincide with All Saints’ and All Souls Day at the beginning of November.

Puente al Paríso, the replica of a traditional Mexican cemetery, Xcaret. Photo courtesy of Xcaret.

A Journey Through Time

To this day, Mexicans believe that the souls of the dead are permitted to return to earth at this time of year and they welcome them back with joy tinged with sadness. All over the country tombstones are cleaned and given a fresh lick of paint and flower garlands, masses and graveside vigils are held and special altars are erected to honor the departed.

Beautifully decorated tombstones, Puente al Paraíso, Xcaret

Altars are intensely personal and although some objects are indispensable, no one altar is alike. Photos and the treasured personal belongings of the deceased, a cross, rosary and the image of a patron saint or the Virgin of Guadalupe are arranged upon the altar against a backdrop of orange marigolds or cempasuchil, red cockscomb and other flowers, rue, cut tissue paper and candles. Aromatic copal incense burns to attract the spirits. Gourds and clay vessels contain offerings of the deceased’s favorite foods and beverages, fruit, chocolate, atole or corn gruel, tequila, mescal or pulque, salt, and water, in case they are thirsty. Toys and candies decorate the altars of children, music lovers are remembered with mariachi serenades and cigarettes might even feature on the altar of a former smoker.

Traditional Day of The Dead Altar, Valladolid, Yucatán

Candles and a trail of petals mark the way home and a smaller offering with food and water is placed outside the house to welcome lost spirits. According to tradition, the souls of children or angelitos, return to earth on October 31, the adults on All Saints’ Day, and they are reunited on All Souls’ Day.

After visiting the tombs of loved ones, families will consume the offerings of food and drink and pan de muerto, a sugar coated bread flavored with orange water and served with hot chocolate or gruel.

The Mayan Day of the Dead is called Hanal Pixán, which means “feast of souls.” Throughout the Yucatán, families make the pilgrimage to the cemetery to visit the graves of their loved ones and erect altars to honor the souls of children and adults. If the deceased was a happy person who liked to party, the altar will be erected in the yard so that he or she can celebrate without disturbing the living.

Tables laden with offerings of mucbilpollo, large chicken tamales wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit and gourds of tan-chucua, a thick corn drink flavored with crushed cacao beans, pepper and aniseed are set up under the trees outside the house. Pumpkins, squash, corn, bread, fruit, sweets, honey cakes and flowers are added and the candles are lit. Incense burns, prayers are said and as night falls on November 1, the Maya believe that the dead draw near to dine. The next day it is the turn of the living; they eat the mucbilpollo, washing it down with gruel, chocolate or balche, an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey and the bark of a tree.

Day of the Dead or Hanal Pixan Altar

During the eight days that the dead return to earth, the Maya abstain from certain tasks such as hunting with guns or sewing so as not to injure one of the wandering souls. Newborn children wear a black thread around their wrists to protect them from any evil spirits that may have also near. On the eighth day or ochavario, the dead prepare to depart this earth for another year and new offerings are placed on their tombs to bid them farewell.

La Catrina

Mexicans refer to Death as a woman, la Muerte, giving her nicknames such as La Catrina, La Flaca or La Huesuda (the skinny or bony one). They joke and even write poems called Calaveras about her on the Day of the Dead. The engravings of 19th century artist, José Guadalupe Posada, show Death in different costumes and settings, as an elegant lady with feathers in her hat, a bride and a dancer. Craftsmen make clay, papier-mâché and wooden Catrinas, skulls and skeletons, including miniatures depicting weddings and mariachi bands.

Colorful representations of Death

Where to witness the Day of the Dead Festival

Altars are erected in stores, restaurants, schools, government offices and town squares throughout Mexico.

Visitors to Cancún and Playa del Carmen should visit Xcaret for the Festival de Vida y Muerte (Festival of Life and Death), a poignant celebration of all the traditions associated with this annual event, including a visit to the colorful Mexican cemetery, processions, altars, cuisine, music and dance, theater and concerts. This year, Mayan communities from the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán and Chiapas are sharing their customs with visitors.

Altar to Frida Kahlo, Day of the Dead, Xcaret

In neighboring Yucatán, the schools and colleges of Valladolid have erected altars outside San Bernardino de Siena Convent and in Merida, local people and visitors stroll along the Corredor de las Animas (the path of the souls), which is Calle 66 between La Ermita and the City Cemetery. In 2009 it was lined with over 200 altars.

Traditional Mayan altar, Hanal Pixan, Valladolid, Yucatán

Further afield, Mexico’s most famous Day of the Dead celebrations take place on the island of Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacán and at Mixquic on the outskirts of Mexico City.

Guests staying at Royal Resorts can see altars on display at The Royal Market and in other parts of the resorts and can sample the traditional pan de muerto and chocolate.

Altar at The Royal Market, Royal Resorts

Discover Chichén Itzá, the ancient capital of the Itzae Maya, declared a World Heritage Site in 1988 and voted one of the Seven New Wonders of the World in a 2007 global poll. The name of this impressive city means “mouth of the well of the Itzae” in Maya and may refer to the two huge cenotes at the site.

Chichén’s Early History
Archaeologists have found fragments of pottery in Chichén Itzá indicating that there was a settlement at the site as far back as 300 B.C., although it wasn’t until the Late Classic period A.D. 750 -900 that the first stone temples and palaces were built and the city began to expand. Archaeologists have recently deciphered hieroglyphic inscriptions found at a temple called the Casa Colorada which reveal the names of long-lost rulers of the city and rival center Ek Balam and give the date of A.D. 869, the earliest found to date at the site.
Chichén Itzá’s earliest architects and artists followed the Puuc architectural and artistic style then in vogue in the Yucatán and most closely identified with the rival city of Uxmal. Friezes profusely decorated with masks of the rain god, Chaac, serpents, columns and fretwork characterize this ornate style.

Invasions & Empire Building
At some point during the 10th century, Chichén was invaded and colonized by the Itzae, a Chontal or Putun Maya tribe from the Gulf coast of Campeche and Tabasco. The Itzae were warriors and traders and had close ties with other Mesoamerican cultures in the highlands of central Mexico. Archaeologists studying the similarities between buildings in Chichén Itzá and Tula in Hidalgo long speculated on the possibility of a second wave of invaders of Toltec origin, although in recent years this theory has now been replaced by the concept of the Itzae as “Mexicanized Maya” in reference to the cultural influences they brought with them. Whatever their origin, the Itzae transformed Chichén into a major power using a combination of warfare, alliances and commerce.
The Itzae initiated a second building boom and the influence of highland Mexico is tangible in the monuments they left. The architectural style featured platforms, columns and wide doorways, round buildings, terraced pyramids, temascales or steam baths, and talud tablero platforms with sloping walls decorated with carved panels. Their art was somewhat sinister and very warlike: knights, ball players being sacrificed, skulls, eagles, jaguars devouring hearts, and the feathered serpent. They also erected columns carved in the likeness of warriors called Atlantes and Chac Mools, reclining figures with hands cupped to receive the heart of a sacrificial victim.
At the height of its glory (A.D. 800 – 1150), Chichén Itzá controlled the Yucatán politically, commercially and militarily. The great metropolis extended for 30 square kilometers with all the major buildings clustered in a core area of six square kilometers. A wall protected the ceremonial heart of the city and a network of 70 sacbes or roads linked different temple complexes, ten ball courts, markets, residential areas and nearby settlements.
The city was cosmopolitan and outward looking and it is quite possible that several groups of different origin could have lived there at one time in distinct neighborhoods. Between 50,000 and 100,000 people inhabited the hinterland, eking out a living on the stony terrain by growing corn, tending orchards, hunting wild game and bee keeping. Cash crops such as cacao, cotton and tobacco were grown in pockets of deeper soil known as rejolladas, and were probably controlled by the elite.

Decline & Discoveries
Chichén Itzá’s power began to wane around 1150 and by 1250 the city had been abandoned. The Itzae migrated south and founded a new city called Tayasal on the shores of Lake Petén Itza in Guatemala. With the coming of the Spaniards, Tayasal was the last city to succumb to the invaders, holding out until 1697.
Mayan pilgrims continued to visit Chichén Itzá to worship at the Sacred Cenote, a tradition that endured after the arrival of the Spaniards in the 16th century. Spanish chronicles relate that such was the majesty of the site that Francisco de Montejo, the military leader who conquered the Yucatán, considered making it his capital.
Friar Diego de Landa described Chichén Itzá in his account of Yucatán before the Spanish Conquest, but it wasn’t until the 19th century when news of the city reached the outside world. John L Stephens and Frederick Catherwood visited the site in 1841, and you can read about their adventures and see Catherwood’s drawings in the books Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatán (1841) and Incidents of Travel in Yucatán (1843). Other explorers followed in their wake, including Augustus Le Plongeon (1873), an eccentric who found the first Chac Mool statue at the site and sought to link Chichén Itza with Atlantis and the ancient Egyptians; Desire Charnay (1880), who remarked upon the similarities between Chichén Itzá and the Toltec city of Tula in central Mexico; Alfred P. Maudslay (1888) who produced maps and drawings of some of the buildings; Teobert Maler (1884) who photographed the site and Edward H. Thompson, the American Consul in the Yucatán and an amateur archaeologist who became one of the most controversial figures in Mayan archaeology.
Large-scale excavation projects at Chichén Itzá began with a joint Mexico-Carnegie Institute project in 1924, initially led by American archaeologist, Sylvanus Morley. Since 1993, the Mexican Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has been excavating and restoring buildings at the site.

Exploring Chichén Itzá

Pyramid of Kukulcán
Dominating the Great Plaza, the 25-meter-high El Castillo or the Pyramid of Kukulcán was built between 1000 to 1150 on top of older temples dating from A.D. 650 -800. The earlier buildings are inside the pyramid we see today and can be visited via a dark, narrow staircase. A chac mool statue guards the entrance to the inner sanctum where there is a magnificent throne in the form of a red jaguar with jade spots and eyes. The jaguar was discovered with an offering of coral, sacrificial flint knives and a turquoise mosiac disc.
The pyramid is a solar clock, aligned to catch the rays of the sun. As it sets on the spring and fall equinoxes in March and September, triangles of light and shadow form along the side of the north staircase and the figure of a snake appears, merging with the stone serpent head at the foot of the building, creating the illusion of a gigantic serpent slithering down from the heavens and across the ground towards the Sacred Cenote.
The snake symbolizes Kukulcán (also known as Quetzalcoatl in central Mexico), the feathered serpent god, returning to earth to give hope to his followers and heralding the harvest season for the Maya.
The pyramid also represents the ancient Mayan calendar as the number of terraces and wall panels coincides with the number of months in the year (18) and years in a calendar round (52), respectively, and the number of steps in the staircases, including the top platform, equals 365, the days in the year.

The Ball Court
The Ball Court in the Great Plaza is the largest in the Maya World. It was here that the Maya played a fast-moving ball game in which teams of warriors had to get a rubber ball through a stone ring high up on the wall of the court with their elbows, wrists and hips without kicking it or using their hands. Priests and nobles would watch the game from the viewing platform in the South Temple.
The ball game had religious and mythological overtones and was linked to the eternal battle between light and darkness, good and evil, death and rebirth. The carved panels on the court walls show warriors, ball players in full regalia and the ritual decapitation of one of the team captains.
The North Temple is also called the Temple of the Bearded Man after a personage that appears in one of the carvings. Bas-reliefs and mural paintings depict Kukulcán, serpents and trees sprouting from the heads of earth monsters. The Temple of the Jaguars is also part of the complex, and the lower temple is accessible from the Great Plaza.
The acoustics in the ball court are incredible – you can literally stand at one end and clap and be heard by someone standing at the other end, 146 meters away.

The Temple of the Jaguars
The jaguar or balam was a sacred animal for the Maya; it was the bearer of the sun on its nightly journey through the Underworld and was associated with war on account of its ferocity and strength. It comes as no surprise that the jaguar was venerated in the warlike city of the Itzae and that it even has a temple to honor it.
Jaguars, Mayan and “Toltec” warriors, feathered serpents and even a battle scene appear in the friezes in the upper and lower temples. The lower temple also has a jaguar throne.

Tzompantli
This low platform in the Great Plaza was a skull rack upon which the heads of sacrificial victims or captives were displayed. The wall carvings have a military theme and show skulls, warriors, serpents and eagles devouring hearts.

Eagles and Jaguars Platform
This low platform has four staircases and balustrades carved in the likeness of feathered serpents. The wall panels feature eagles and jaguars eating hearts and a reclining warrior who is thought to be Kukulcán holding a lance.

Venus Platform
Also flanking the plaza, this platform has staircases and feathered serpent balustrades. Kukulcán appears in the wall panels as the planet Venus emerging from a jaws of a serpent and the woven mat symbol of kingship is also visible. It was here that Augustus Le Plongeon unearthed the first chac mool statue to be found at the site

Temple of the Mesas
Excavated and restored several years ago, this temple has an altar supported by warriors and yielded offerings of a jade breastplate and figurines, mortars, pestles and obsidian mirror holders. Friezes and murals in the temples are still being reconstructed and feature jaguars, feathered serpents, trees and warriors.

Temple of the Warriors
Built on top of an earlier temple called Chac Mool, the massive Temple of the Warriors is famous for its columns covered with carvings of warriors and priests; panels featuring Kukulcán emerging from the jaws of a snake, jaguars and eagles devouring hearts, a mural showing an attack on a coastal village by seagoing warriors in canoes, Atlantes figures, standard bearers, and a Chac Mool statue on the upper level surrounded by feathered serpent pillars that once supported the temple roof. The architecture is a blend of Mayan and central Mexican elements.

The Court of a Thousand Columns
The colonnades in front of and to the south of the Temple of the Warriors were originally covered with a wooden roof and may have been halls that were used during ceremonies or for gatherings during which nobles discussed city policy. The colonnade extending from the front of the Temple of the Warriors to the northwest consists of 221 pillars, each one carved with a unique portrait of a warrior, priest, noble and captives. The courtyard formed by these walkways housed ball courts, temples, steam baths and the Mercado or Market, also thought to have been the site of the Popol Nah or council chamber.

The Sacred Well
A short walk from the Great Plaza along a sacbe is the Sacred Cenote, a deep sinkhole that was once the site of sacrificial ceremonies to appease Chaac, the rain god. The Maya believed that cenotes and caves were entrances to the Underworld, the home of the gods and therefore holy places.
The well was first dredged in 1904-7 by Edward H. Thompson, who destroyed many artifacts in the process and then even more controversially smuggled the valuable finds out of the country to the Peabody Museum where many of them remain to this day. Later exploration took place under the auspices of INAH in 1960-61 and 1967-8. Over 30,000 artifacts have been recovered from the murky depths of the cenote including golden discs, figurines and jewelry, jade, copper, turquoise, obsidian, copal incense, rubber balls, wooden lances and staffs, pottery, the bones of animals and around 200 people, mostly children and old men who had the misfortune to be selected as sacrificial victims.
Turquoise originated in the American southwest, obsidian is from the Mexican highlands and the gold is thought to have come from northern Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica, proof of Chichén Itzá´s vast trade network.
The Sacred Well is one of two large cenotes on the site, the other, Cenote Xtoloc, supplied the city with drinking water.

The Ossuary
Also known as the Tomb of the High Priest in reference to the burials found in a cave under the pyramid, the Ossuary was built some time during the 9th century. The wall carvings feature serpents, birds with the face of Itzamna, the chief god in the Mayan pantheon, cacao, fruit, Chaac masks and images of Kukulcan.
En route to the Observatory you see the House of the Deer and the Chichanchob or Colored House, two of the site’s earlier buildings. Archaeologists are currently studying hieroglyphic inscriptions found at the Colored House.

Ancient Observatory
El Caracol, also known as the Observatory, is a round tower on a square platform that was used by ancient Mayan priests and astronomers to study the heavens. It has a viewing platform and wells to mirror starlight, and was aligned to catch sunsets and moonsets on both equinoxes and to mark the course of Venus. Round towers are rare in the Maya World and are a central Mexican innovation. Archaeologists have discovered that the Observatory had at least six building phases.

The Puuc buildings
The group of buildings located to the south of the Observatory was built during the period A.D. 600-900 in the Puuc architectural style typical of southwestern Yucatan and characterized by elaborate friezes featuring curl snouted masks of Chaac, the rain god. The largest building is Las Monjas, which had seven building phases and was christened “The Nunnery” by Diego de Landa because it resembled the convents of Spain. The East Annex and La Iglesia (the Church) are smaller buildings with magnificent upper friezes.

Chichén Viejo
South of Las Monjas, a sacbe leads through the forest to a cluster of buildings known as Old Chichen, a 25-minute walk away. Archaeologists are still working in this area, excavating and restoring the ruined temples that were built between the 7th and 10th centuries. The buildings include the Temple of the Initial Series, the Temple of the Owls, the Temple of the Phallus and the Temple of the Three Lintels.

Chichén Itzá Light & Sound Show
The evening Chichen Itzá Light and Sound Show in the archaeological site is highly recommended.

Balancanche Cave
A labyrinth of caves and underground rivers lies deep in the heart of the limestone landscape of the Yucatán. In ancient times, cenotes or sinkholes, which form when cave roofs weaken and subside, were the only source of fresh water for area inhabitants and settlements were located near these natural wells.
Cenotes and caves were also sacred sites for the ancient Maya who believed that they were the entrances to Xibalbá, the underworld, and the realm of the gods. Priests would visit them in secret to perform rites in honor of their deities.
Located six kilometers to the east of Chichén Itzá on Highway 180 and considered by many archaeologists to be part of the site, Balancanché or “throne of the jaguar” in Maya is one such cave. Incense burners, statues of Chaac, the Mayan rain god and his central Mexican counterpart, Tlaloc, and other offerings ¬were found at the foot of a huge stalagmite which resembles the ceiba or sacred tree of the Maya, when the caves were first explored. They were left in situ and you can see them during your visit to the caves.
You can listen to a guided tour in English, Spanish or French as you explore the caves. Be warned, the narrow path is not for the claustrophobic. There is a tiny museum and a botanical garden at the site.

Getting to Chichén Itzá
Thomas More Travel offers a variety of day trips to Chichén Itzá & Chichen Itza Tours , for information contact tourdesk@royalresorts.com If you would like to explore at your own pace, Chichén Itzá is 200 km/125 miles from Cancún; take the toll road to Pisté or Highway 180 via Valladolid.

As you munch your way through a chocolate bar or sip a creamy mug of cocoa, do you ever stop and wonder how mankind ever came up with such a heavenly taste? It may come as a surprise to you to find out that cacao, the tropical tree that yields the seeds used in the manufacture of chocolate, was cultivated in Mexico over 3,000 years ago and is one of its gifts to the world.

From the days of the ancient Maya and Aztecs when it was a sacred offering to the gods and the drink of kings, to its popularity among the colonial clergy of Nueva España, at the court of the Sun King in France, and our own choco cravings, in some way or another, chocolate and cacao has always been associated with the divine. In fact, even the scientific name of cacao is Theobroma cacao, which means “food of the gods.”

The Story begins

Native to tropical America, the tree was first cultivated in the coastal lowlands along the Gulf of Mexico, the present-day state of Tabasco, by the Olmec people, 3,000 years ago. Cacao needs fertile soils, tropical temperatures and abundant rainfall and the area suited it very well, so much so that it is still produced in Tabasco today, although the major European powers introduced the tree to West Africa, the Caribbean islands and Brazil during the Colonial period.

The Olmecs may have introduced cacao but it was the Maya who began to cultivate it on a large scale between 400 B.C. and A.D. 100. During the Classic period, the Golden Age of Mayan civilization from A.D. 250 to 900, cacao or kakaw had a pivotal role in the economy as a lucrative cash crop, and also in their religion.

The Maya honored their gods with offerings of cacao fruit and a bitter red drink made from the ground beans, crushed achiote (annatto) seeds and water. The fruit was associated with the human heart and the drink with blood. They drank it during ceremonies, festivals and even at engagement and wedding celebrations. The Maya Quiche word chokola’k means “drink chocolate together,” and may be the origin of our word chocolate. The Maya tempered the bitter taste of the cacao by adding a variety of flavorings including corn, allspice, vanilla, honey, herbs and chili. Polychrome pottery shows Mayan rulers imbibing the sacred drink and women pouring it from one vessel to another to make it frothy.

The Mayan god of trade Ek Chuah was also the patron of cacao growers and merchants grew prosperous from the trade. They had plantations in Tabasco and archaeologists have also found evidence of cacao cultivation in southern Quintana Roo, Belize and even in rejolladas or earth-filled depressions around cenotes in the Chichén Itzá area. Cacao beans were used as currency, a tradition that endured in Mexico well into the Colonial period, and unscrupulous traders would even make counterfeit cacao beans from clay.

Like Water for Chocolate

Centuries later, the Aztecs also traded and consumed vast quantities of cacao, demanding it as tribute from their vassals in Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco. Emperor Moctezuma drank a cold cacao drink flavored with flowers and fruit, and the royal storehouses were not only crammed with gold and silver but also cacao beans.

Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his followers sipped their first cold, unsweetened chocolate at the court of the emperor Moctezuma in 1519 and noted that it did seem to give people stamina. After the Conquest of Mexico in 1521, Spanish settlers of the new colony they called Nueva España began to add sugar, cinnamon and pepper and serve it hot. They referred to it as chocolatl, using the indigenous word derived from xoco, bitter and atl, water in Nahuatl, although chacau haa or chocol haa also means hot water in Maya, and the word “chocolate” emerged.

The Spaniards developed quite a taste for chocolate and started shipping cacao back to the Motherland in 1585. The drink of nobles, clerics and kings, it was all the rage at the Spanish court and spread throughout Europe during the 17th century where it soon became the fashionable drink in wealthy circles.

In 1828, Coenraad Van Houten invented cocoa powder in Holland and by the middle of the century British Quaker magnates such as J.S. Fry and John Cadbury were perfecting the industrial process to make chocolate bars and bring cacao to the masses. In Switzerland, Henri Nestlé added milk to make a sweeter candy bar, the Hershey Company followed in the United States and the rest is history!

Although most of the world’s cacao now comes from West Africa and Brazil, cacao plantations still dot the Chontalpa region of Tabasco and small factories in Oaxaca produce some of the purest chocolate available anywhere. Often flavored with cinnamon, Mexican chocolate tablets make a deliciously creamy, frothy version of the drink, perfect for cool winter evenings or even for breakfast.

Mole, Blending Chiles and Chocolate?

Chicken or turkey in chocolate sauce may sound strange but you should try this classic Mexican recipe. Mole is a deliciously spicy sauce made according to family recipes passed down from generation to generation. The word mole is derived from the Aztec word molli for sauce and the recipe is a true blend of New and Old World ingredients: pre-Hispanic staples and spices introduced by the Spaniards, which were combined with artistry in the convent kitchens of the Colonial period. Spanish diarists of the day such as Antonio de la Ciudad Real and Fray San Pedro Sebastian talk about visits to convents and monasteries and the dishes featuring native fruits and nuts, European spices, chicken or turkey served up by the innovative sisters and monks.

History tells us that mole originated in the Santa Rosa Convent in Puebla in the 17th century. The story goes that Sister Andrea de la Asunción blended chocolate, chili, sesame seeds, cinnamon, almonds, peanuts, garlic and pepper among other ingredients, to create a sauce that she served with turkey to honor the visit of the Viceroy.

Another version of the story attributes the dish to another monastery and to divine intervention. Juan de Palafox, Viceroy and Archbishop of Puebla announced that he would be visiting his diocese and dining with the monks. The head cook, Friar Pascual was nervous and began to berate his assistants about the mess in the kitchen. He hastily piled all the spices, nuts, seeds, stale tortillas and chilies lying on the counter onto a tray and was carrying it to the pantry when he tripped and went flying, spilling everything into a pan full of turkey simmering away for the visitors. Fearing that he had spoilt the meal, he began to pray, and to his amazement the accidental dish turned out to be a great success. To this day, Mexican cooks often ask for his help, saying “San Pascual Bailón, atiza mi fogón,” literally, St. Pascual Bailón, bless my kitchen.

There are now countless variations on the original recipe in Puebla, Oaxaca, Hidalgo the state of Mexico and beyond and an October Mole Festival in San Pedro Atocpan (October 2 – 24), a town on the outskirts of Mexico City, which produces most of the mole spice paste consumed in the country. Up to 500,000 people are expected to attend the festival in 2010 and the organizers hope that the art of making mole will soon be recognized as a World Heritage tradition by UNESCO.

Something Sweet

Be sure to try some Mexican chocolate or mole during your stay in Cancún and the Riviera Maya. Mole is on the menu at Hacienda Sisal Restaurant and you may order hot chocolate at any of the Royal Resorts restaurants. Mexican chocolate bars and tablets are also on sale at The Royal Market if you would like to make your own. Pick up a molinillo or traditional wooden beater from local craft markets to whip your chocolate until it is frothy, and for a touch of luxury, add a dash of whipped cream.

Cacao beans, once a prized trade good used as currency by the ancient Maya.

Cacao pods.

Cacao is grown on estates in the fertile Chontalpa lowlands in Tabasco, Mexico.

Cacao beans are dried, roasted and then ground.

Photos courtesy of Secretary of Tourism, Tabasco, Mexico