Intro

Mérida - Fiestas and Entertainment

In February the happiness and warmth of the Yucatecan people can be felt in the Party of the Year - Carnival. This huge party is Mérida’s Carnival – or Mardi gras! It is a happy time for both - locals and visitors. If you are lucky enough to be visiting Mérida at this time, do take part and enjoy!

Mérida’s Carnival is one of the five most important in the entire Mexican republic and one of the 12 principal carnivals in all of Latin America. From February 14th to February 21st, locals and visitors will see the local culture as they live the traditional time of Carnival. Pre-carnival events begin at the end of January at the Carlos Iturralde stadium in Mérida, where 180 artists dance to tropical rhythms.

This big event will be followed in February by the burning of Bad Moods, the children’s Parade, the corso, fantasy, Bachata and regional Parade and will finish with the Juan Carnival Funeral at the Municipal Palace Calle 62 Plaza.

Easter is one of the most important Christian holidays commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ after he was crucified. In Mexico, where 90% of the population is baptized Catholic, although many don't actually practice, Easter is taken very seriously - and literally - with colourful, passionate processions re-enacting the Passion of Jesus Christ's last days on earth.

The week leading up to Easter, known in English as Holy Week, is called Semana Santa in Latin American countries and is celebrated with processions, masses and other events that mark Jesus Christ's triumphant return to Jerusalem, his trial, his walk carrying the cross, and his crucifixion. In Mérida and in many villages, people recreate the Via Cruses with actors and costumes of those times.

Palm Sunday, Domingo de Ramos in Spanish, starts off Semana Santa on Sunday and the week builds toward Maudy Thursday, Good Friday and of course, Easter Sunday, known as Dia de Gloria - Day of glory. On Palm Sunday everyone goes to Mass in the morning for the blessing of the Palm leaves. On Maudy Thursday and Good Friday,  the activities become more elaborate. On Maudy Thursday the "washing of the feet" ceremony is celebrated. On Good Friday the Passions plays are enacted.

During Semana Santa most of the people living in Mérida  spend their holidays at the beach.

Summer time in Yucatán

Summertime, what a glorious time of the year! In the Yucatán, summertime is even more special in that we have "temporada" - the two month period when the Méridanos who can leave a hot and sweltering Mérida and head to the coast and their beachfront homes. July and August are when you will find the coastal towns and villages bustling with the floating population that arrives for the two months. If you visit the coast from September to August, it is pretty low key and in some cases, down right dead! But, come July and August and things get jumping!

For this special day, Mérida is all dressed up in red, green and white – our national colours. Since mid-August the Main Plaza, Calle 60 in the Historic Centre, Santa Ana and, of course, the majestic Paseo Montejo have been decorated with banners, lights and all kinds of red, green and white decorations. On many corners you will see the Mexican flag vendors who have a whole cache of fun hats, decorations, banners, noise makers, and other things allusive to the upcoming Independence
Day celebration.





While September is “month of the country”, Independence Day is September 15th, commemorating Mexico's independence from Spain in 1810. Celebration festivities will begin around 8 p.m. in the Main Plaza. You are going

On November 1st and 2nd, the Mexican people celebrate their loved ones that have passed on. The Mexican Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos)  is a holiday with a complex history, therefore its observance varies by region and by degree of urbanization. It is not a morbid occasion, but rather a festive time. Generally speaking, the holiday's activities consist of families welcoming their dead back into their homes, and also visiting the graves of their departed loved ones.



At the cemetery, family members clean up the gravesite, decorate it with flowers, and set out and enjoy a picnic while visiting with other family and community members who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead, the animas, return and are all around them. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous; usually featuring the foods the departed loved ones liked, such as the Yucatecan chicken, mucbil pollo and pan de muerto.

Gravesites and family altars in the homes are profusely decorated with flowers, adorned with religious amulets and offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages for the adults and toys for the children. The traditional observance calls for departed children to be remembered November 1st, the Day of the Little Angels, or Día de los Angelitos, and for adults to be remembered on the second day called All Saints, or Todos los Santos.

 

In the months of November until the middle of February,  Sunday is corrida-day at the Plaza de Toros in Mérida. Seats are available from approx. 30 Pesos in the sun and approx. 50 Pesos in the shade. You can buy tickets either directly in the arena or in all Oxxo-stores.

Parque del Centenario circuit: Calle 60, Paseo de Montejo, Parque de las Americas, Parque del Centenario: Departs from the main plaza, north side of the cathedral stand, goes along Calle 60 and Paseo de Montejo all the way to Monumento a la Patria (Monument to the country), turns on Avenida Cupules to de las Americas park, continues on the Itzaes avenue to the Parque del Centenario (zoo) and back to the main plaza on Calle 59. Rate 200 pesos for a two hours trip, up to 4 passengers. This circuit is to be made daytime. Some of the drivers speak English so they can give you a little tour.

Working hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Other stands: South side of the Zocalo in front of the Casa de Montejo, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Santa Lucia park after the famous "Serenata de Santa Lucia" every Thursday at 9 p.m.