Mayan History & Culture - Part 2

Francisco de Montejo y León, "el Mozo" (the younger), founded the city of Mérida, Mexico when in 1542 he led the conquest of the Yucatán and built his house there.  We toured the house (Museo Casa Montejo) which was built using the stones of the Mayan pyramids that were destroyed. . . .

Generations of his family lived in this house until the 1980s.  This is the dining room. . . .

.....and its ceiling. . . .

Up stairs the rooms were not furnished, but this door was a piece of art in itself. . . .

Opened you could look out over the Grand Plaza to the north.  This is where the Sunday market is held and so many of the other events I've talked about. . . .

Our guide was a friend of our daughter-in-law's so we were taken to a room where children were working on crafts so we could see this mural of what the house and surrounding area would have looked like in the 1500s. . . .

Every night Mérida holds some cultural event in the Centro area.  Wednesday night is "video mapping" on the facade of the house.  The carvings are highlighted. . . .

To the left was a translation in English of what was being said while images are projected showing enlargements of the carved figures as they are explained. . . .

At the end Montejo himself comes out onto the balcony and speaks with the Mayan leader.  They debate each other's way of life--each believing they were better off without the other--but in the end it is acknowledged that both are the foundation of today's Yucatan. . . .

At the end the folkloric dancers performed several dances. . . .

                   

Another evening we watched the video mapping on the Catedral San Ildefonso.  This cathedral faces the Grand Plaza on the east side.  Its construction started in 1561 and, like the Montejo house, stones from the pyramids were used.  It is the second oldest cathedral in the Americas. . . .

We did not stay for the entire program because unlike the other video mapping, this one was not translated.  For a look inside go to this blog.  She also talks about the cathedral that I could see from my hotel room.

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We took a short cab ride to the Museo Regional de Yucatán.  It is housed in Palacio Cantón, the early 20th century home of General Cantón (a governor of the Yucatán) and his family until 1932. . . . 

Currently their exhibits consisted of masks and carvings.  Masks are still used for rituals and festivals in the Mayan culture.  Some are quite devilish-looking.  I'm only showing the tamer ones. . . .

This one is rather charming. . . .

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We walked a few blocks to the Museo de Arte Popular aka folk art.  This was my favorite because of the beautiful handcrafted art. . . .

The piece on the left is called The Tree of Life.  The skeletons are iconic Day of the Dead art. . . .

Another Tree of Life sculpture. . . .

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Several of the nightly events in Centro Mérida were the folk dances of the Yucatán. . . .

                     
These folk dances are taught to the children in school.  Here is our daughter-in-law when she was a child in the 1990s. . . .

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Take Joy!