Week 5: The Final Days in Mérida

February 5: Acanceh, Tecoh, and Mayapán

To begin the day, our class arrived with Hugo to the city of Acanceh, which in Mayan means “Moan of the Deer” as indicated by the hieroglyphic texts deciphered here. This city was founded by the Franciscans of Spain, who had less financial support from their home country. The former Mayan metropolis has two pyramids and a stucco place (Palacio de los Estucos) surrounded by Spanish-style buildings. Acanceh is 3 km² and was occupied since the Early to Late Preclassic (around 400 BC) as indicated by studies on pottery. We climbed up the first pyramid and found five uncovered masks made out of stucco and limestone. There were a total of eight masks at one point, but two of them were destroyed after being disturbed. Some of the masks had residual red and blue paint, even after many centuries. There was another pyramid nearby which had stucco on one side and bricks of various shapes, an indication of buildings continually being built upon by others.

Eventually, all of us walked through the Palacio de los Estucos which served as a residential and administrative palace reserved for the elite. There were many zoomorphic figures along the walls of monkeys, bats, and birds such as the cormorant. Overall, it was strange for me to see such ruins completely enveloped within the city. Had the two pyramids and the palace not been there, who would know that the Mayan version of Acanceh existed? It was easy to tell, given the eroded state of the ruins, that the Mayan ruins receive tourist dollars disproportionately. These spots seem rarely visited, and they do not receive as much of the revenue as other sites such as Chichén Itzá or Uxmal, both of which seem to magnetize huge flows of visitors. I guess that not all of the structures benefit from such an industry.

After leaving Acanceh, our group drove to the town of Tecoh (“Place of the Cougar”). The first place we stumbled upon was a bullring, which was constructed of wood and scrap metal. It didn’t seem like the sturdiest place to have such an intense sport, compared to what you would see in Spain or on ESPN. The event in Mexico, and in Spain, is polemical due to complaints of animal abuse. Opponents may point out that countries like Portugal do not kill the bull but instead play around with it. There are reports of bullfighters and trainers pinching the animal to goad it into fighting mode, which obviously wouldn’t sit well with PETA. According to Hugo, men would drink the blood of a slain bull in a display of machismo. However, it must be hard to feel macho when you later become ill due to such an action.

The second place we visited in Tecoh was the Convent of the Virgin of the Assumption. Like other churches and cathedrals built in Mexico, it was large yet simple compared to the ornate places of worship such as St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican or St. Vitus’s Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic. Not surprisingly, it was built upon pre-Columbian mounds. The inside and outside was impressive due to its size and sculptures, but it brought back the mixed feelings I experienced when visiting the Cathedral of San Ildefonso in regards to the conquistadors building upon pre-existing structures. There were some Mayan descendents walking throughout the church, which seemed ironic in a historical sense when considering how they had their culture and religion stolen during the conquest. Now, they are left to deal with socioeconomic inequality. Did the new faith and culture have to come at such a cost?

Our last stop brought us to the archeological zone of Mayapán, which reached its prime in the 13^th century but was occupied since the 11^th century. The city apparently held 12,000 to 21,000 inhabitants at a time, though there might have been many more living there. The rise of the city coincided with the collapse of greater cities such as Chichén Itzá and Uxmal. There is a mix of Puuc style as well as Aztec and Toltec influence (due to the use of serpent sculptures), and trade was common. The Castillo here was built around 1300 AD, and we were actually able to climb it! This pyramid contains 65 steps, which when multiplied by four sides coincides with 260 days reminiscent to the older Mayan calendar. The panorama of the zone and the surrounding vegetation was incredible from the top. This would have been impossible to do now at Chichén Itzá due to the new roles set in place. I enjoyed Mayapán because we did not encounter the swarms of tourists as evident in Chichén Itzá, which was distracting and annoying. While it might not earn the same revenue as Chichén, it is unspoiled in comparison. Today was a busy one, to say the least. There are more trips to come, which includes stops at Campeche, Kiuic, and Uxmal in the near future.

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Yucatan/Merida/Acanceh/

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Yucatan/Merida/Tecoh/

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Yucatan/Merida/Mayapan/

February 7: Campeche

We visited the city of Campeche, which was founded in 1540 by Francisco de Montejo el Mozo over the former Mayan town of Can Pech (Pech was a Mayan family name). The Spanish were able to use this port to stake their claims within the Yucatán in regards to shipping resources throughout the Gulf and the Caribbean and trading throughout Europe. However, pirates from England, France, or other nations wanted such a strategic port and assaulted the city many times. The Fort of San Miguel was constructed to counter attacks from such invaders. Oddly enough, the same fort became the Museo Arqueológico de Campeche which houses many Mayan artifacts dating back to the Late Classic and Terminal Classic periods. We found many masks made out of limestone and stucco along with, obsidian weapons, pottery, stelae commemorating past lords, and the mummified remains of one of Calakmul’s former rulers covered in jade and other prized possessions. The upper level outside had cannons surrounding the fort and overlooked the Gulf of Mexico, which was neat. It was strange to see a fortress built upon a Mayan metropolis against pirates transform into a museum containing Mayan artifacts. This odd sensation reminded me of how General Cantón’s mansion in Mérida later became the Museum of Anthropology. After looking at the sea and baking in the scorching sun, we left for lunch before wandering around some more.

Before we could venture further into the city, our bus broke down. After waiting for half an hour, we decided to take a bus towards the old part of Campeche. Even after almost five decades, thousands of the buildings retained the baroque style characteristic to the 1500s. They were more colorful than those of various cities back in the U.S. Back at home, the buildings are black, gray, or white. Campeche has buildings with red, yellow, and blue colors, which was rather unusual for me. We walked through Casa Cultural Seis, originally belonging to Doña Augustina Barranco and constructed in 1778. The interior and the courtyard had elegant furniture, dinnerware, and paintings. It seemed like an ideal place to live in minus the malaria, which is present in the state of Campeche. At about 4:15, some students and I wandered on our own. We went inside the Cathedral in town, which bore the same Franciscan influences evident in the other churches we walked through in Mérida and Tecoh. Soon enough, all of us sat alongside the coast to enjoy the view and relax. The whole class reunited at 5:15 to walk through the Museum of Mayan Architecture, which had many well-preserved stelae and statues from various ruins throughout Campeche which help anthropologists understand the life of the ancient Maya. There was a heavy focus on the glyphic writing style, which was used to relay the details of leaders in regards to blood-letting, accomplishments in battle, and prisoners captured. Glyphic literacy was limited to the scribes (Aj tz’ihb), sculptors (aj uxul), the educated men (Itz’aat), the elite, and the priests. Now, we are trying to decode what only these groups could understand in their time. I’m still trying to comprehend their writing style in addition to their calendar, which is as foreign to me as English or Spanish would have been to them. We spent an hour looking at the artifacts within before catching our bus back to Merida.

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj35/jonroth/Mexico/Campeche/

February 8: MACAY

I walked with some classmates to the Museum of Modern Art in Mérida (MACAY) to look at the paintings and sculptures within. There was a mix of styles, such as one room that had paintings of marine life distorted into containing triangular shapes. We also saw various sculptures of people and animals twisted out of their true forms, and another room contained black-and-white images of nature. It was easier for me to appreciate the nature pictures since I am interested in environmental issues. Nearby was a room with paintings from Fernando Castro Pacheco, who depicted the struggles of the Mayans upon the establishment of Mexican cities similar to his work in the Palace of the Government. Those images were sad but showed the side of the country’s early history that the conquistadors tried to disguise as a glorious battle. These two rooms had art that I could appreciate more.

                However, there were some paintings where I could not understand the relationship between the title and explanation to the actual image itself. For example, I looked at a painting which contained many triangles and waves, acting to depict hurricane damage. It would be easier to see if I was trained in the arts, but I am not. Eventually, we came across a particularly disturbing room which portrayed manipulated images of people wearing sadomasochist bondage apparel. I guess they were trying to depict pain in relation to sexual fetishism, but I couldn’t figure out how. Most of the art here had a metropolitan feel, which would probably be present at a museum in Philadelphia or anywhere else. The room that had most of the “Yucatecan” feel was the one with Pacheco’s work, since there is historical context. All of the other images were derived from foreign art styles and cultures. It was difficult for me to truly value many of the artists’ messages through their abstract work as I do not have a strong art background. I equate the experience with filling out a crossword puzzle without using a word bank. The image was in front of me, but the pieces never came together when understanding its significance. If I was an art major, my perspective would be completely different. I guess that’s why abstract forms of art are lost on so many people I know, because they never developed such an interest or appreciation. Is modern art an obsolete practice, or an acquired taste? I’ll let you decide.