Yucatan Living
Expatriates living, working & playing in Merida and the Yucatan
History & Mythology
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One Last Effort: Chapter Sixteen
After her husband’s death, when Guadalupe looked into the state of her affairs, she was shocked to discover that only nine thousand sev...
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Yucatan's Connection to Texas, Part Two
In Part Two of this story, author Byron Augustin details how the navies of Texas and Mexico involved Yucatan into this fascinating history...
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Yucatan's Connection to Texas
The Yucatan Peninsula and Texas go back a long way. Guest writer Byron Augustin tells us the story...
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Yucatan Travel in the Seventies
A treasure trove of documents from an archivist in Tiburon, CA set us off on an investigation...
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Sunken Treasure of the S.S. Merida
There once was a passenger ship called the S.S. Merida...
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Ancient Symbols in the New World, Part III
In which we learn the history and origina of the lauburu, where we can find it in Yucatan and some famous Latinos of Basque heritage...
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Ancient Symbols in the New World, Part II
In this second part of a three part series, we learn a lot about the people who brought the lauburu to the Yucatan...
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Ancient Symbols in the New World, Part I
The first in a three-part series about searching out the origins of a mysterious symbol found throughout the Yucatan...
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Yucatan Tales of Eduardo Galeano
If you don't know about Eduardo Galeano, let us have the pleasure of introducing you. If you already know Galeano, enjoy these tales...
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Divorce in Yucatan
A little booklet we found on eBay leads to research about the Yucatan divorce mill of the 1920's...
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The History of Cozumel
The generally accepted history of the island of Cozumel is filled with misconceptions. Our guest writer Ric Hajovsky clarifies a few of those for us...
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The Maya and the Mississippi
Did the Maya explore territory on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico? It's hard to imagine that they didn't...
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One Last Effort: Final Chapters
In which don Hermengildo learns the truth, and our story comes to an end.
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One Last Effort: Chapters 20 & 21
In which don Hermengildo gets annoyed, Lupita pretends not to be, and a serious illness throws a monkey wrench in the works...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Nineteen
In which don Hermengildo attends a Carnval masked ball with Lupita, only to find himself like a fish out of water...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Eighteen
In which don Hermengildo finally realizes his dreams are about to come true, and agrees to go to a Carnaval costume ball...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Seventeen
In which a party is thrown, with cochinita, relleno and many other Yucatecan dishes served, and don Hermengildo gives a toast...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Sixteen
In which Lupita begins to realize she is not so young anymore and entertains the idea of marrying don Hermenegildo…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Fifteen
In which don Hermenegildo considers one last effort to try to get married, doña Raimunda does her best to get things started, and forward progress is interrupted by a boy with a bump on his forehead…
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One Last Effort: Chapters Thirteen & Fourteen
In which don Hermengildo becomes involved in politics, we get insight into various parties, publications elections, and Luis Robles finds himself on the good side of Lady Luck...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Twelve
In which we peer through a window into the upsetting situation that is the marriage between Lupita and her gallavanting husband. Lupita has a child, Pancho continues to go out on the town without her, and Lupita begins to dream of revenge…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Eleven
In which don Hermenegildo finds himself at loose ends. We are given a glimpse into his home life and his extended family, all of whom live with him, as well as a few common children’s games. And perhaps we are introduced to a future famous artist…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Ten
In which a marriage is quickly arranged, a poor woman takes fever and dies, and don Hermenegildo thinks it is all his fault…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Nine
In which two men, don Hermenegildo and Pancho Vélez, saunter toward the altar and prepare to drink the wedding chocolate, as the various women wait impatiently for them…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Eight
In which we learn that don Hermenegildo tentatively represents Luis Robles, and Lupita uses the powers of her growing beauty on multiple men, including one who courts her on his horse…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Seven
In which we are witness to a rivalry over the lovely Lupita at the dance, where tempers run high, two young men almost come to blows and don Hermenegildo is the only one who loses his hat…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Six
In which we learn a bit about managing a hacienda and a lot more about teenage girls managing their social schedule…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Five
Ah, the story continues! In this chapter, we are privy to the machinations that young men, and not so young men, went through to get the attention of women in Merida society…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Four
In which we obtain more insight into why don Hermenegildo has never married, and what might encourage him to consider it, and in which we meet don Felipe, who had a headache…
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One Last Effort: Chapter Three
In Chapter Three, we listen in to a conversation between doña Raimunda and don Hermenegildo to learn more about don Hermenegildo's past and his thoughts on his bad luck in love...
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One Last Effort: Chapter Two
In which we learn more about Lupita, her brother Manuel, and her two suitors, Luis Robles and Fermín...
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One Last Effort: Intro and Chapter One
Here is the introduction and the first chapter of a translated novel, written about Merida in the early 20th century and translated by a very dedicated reader, Nadine Calder. We hope you enjoy this serialized walk through Merida and Yucatan history...
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Koreans in Yucatan
The history of Koreans in the Yucatan goes back to Yucatan's heyday, when the need for workers in the henequen fields outstripped the supply of local workers...
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Regata al Sol: Epic Journey to the Sun
Most of us have never heard about these two sailing regattas that bring racers from the Gulf Coast of the USA to the Yucatan Peninsula. Even fewer of us know how they figured in the development of Cancun...
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Aurora Yucateca - Part III
In Part III of the story of the Aurora Yucateca, we meet the man, John Masterson Burke, whose engineering skills were crucial in the success of the venture. We also find out what happened to send Burke home, and where he applied what he learned when he returned...
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Aurora Yucateca - Part II
In the second part of our three-part series, guest author Byron Augustin writes about Valladolid's first steam-powered factory's successes and failures, and the reasons for both. This article is in both English and Español...
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Aurora Yucateca - Part I
In this first of a three-part series, guest writer Byron Augustin introduces us to the Aurora Yucateca, Mexico's first steam-powered factory which was located in Yucatan's Valladolid. This article is in both English and Español...
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Edward Herbert Thompson
Edward Herbert Thompson is one of the most colorful figures from Yucatan history, and perhaps can be said to be one of the first expatriates in this area. Jeanine Kitchel tells his story which is forever entwined with the modern story of Chichen Itza...
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Sylvanus Morley
Sylvanus Morley, perhaps the inspiration for Indiana Jones, was an engineer-turned-archaeologist who spearheaded the Carnegie Institution's massive effort at renovating Chichen Itza...
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Arturo Zama Escalante, Witness to History
January 25, 2011 will mark the one-year anniversary of a friend, someone who was a witness to one of Mexico's most historic and horrific moments of the 20th Century...
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Paseo de Montejo Statues
Two statues approved by the outgoing mayor have drawn attention and anger from many citizens of Merida and the Yucatan... what is all the fuss about? Well, it's complicated...
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2010 Census and Mexican History Book
For months, we don't hear from them. Then, twice in one week, we are contacted personally by the Mexican government...
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Yucatan Sisal in History
An advertisement from a 1930 American farm magazine provides us with a glimpse into the fascinating history of Merida and the Yucatan Peninsula...
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Corner Plaques and Yucatan Kids
If you have ever visited Merida, you have probably had the experience of getting lost in the maze of numbered streets that make up the Centro Historico. In the early colonial days, Merida's streets confused many of its inhabitants...
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Short History of Monday
When we first moved to the Yucatan, we noticed how people often didn't work on Monday. We were told that it was San Lunes (Saint Monday), a very old tradition here...
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The Ghosts of Mani
Mani is a sleepy little Mayan pueblo. As in many places in the Yucatan, there are ghosts here, but you'd never know it...
