The ZOCALO and Merida's EL CENTRO

The Zocalo and El Centro – Merida 

Downtown Merida, or Centro, is the heart of the original historic part of town.  It is here where a large number of important buildings, art museums, the Governor’s Palace, restaurants, banks, shops and bookstores can be found, as well as buses to everywhere…. 

Latin American cities take a little getting used to for the average American.  The buildings all come to the sidewalk or street and are attached in rows along blocks without the more spacious feel of an American city, so we tend to judge them as “less beautiful” than our sterile modern cities, but it’s really just a difference in style.

 One must pay attention to where one is  walking throughout the city because of holes in the sidewalks, potholes in the streets and generally walking can be an obstacle course, except in the most upscale neighborhoods.  Sometimes streets are cobblestoned or stone blocks and usually sidewalks are narrow cement slabs so that they are often broken or slanted with unexpected gaps.  The street lights take up a good portion of the sidewalk and when there is work being done on the facades of buildings, a common occurrence, one needs to walk in the street to get around the scaffolding and fend one’s way carefully along with the press of traffic, buses, and trucks.

This is especially true for trash days, when big black plastic bags of trash take up large parts of the narrow sidewalks.  But there IS trash pickup and organic trash pickup (on separate days), so Merida is a relatively clean city, except where the trash has blown and built up over time.  It does seem to spill out as the trash truck goes by as well… But there are street sweeping machines that come through after some trash days, which helps.

The Central park is called the Zocalo and is spacious with many benches under lush trees.  Mid day is a favorite time for people to hang out, catch a bite from local food carts, couples tend to smootch, students to work on their computers (although I don’t know if there is wi-fi in the park), and everyone chats on cell phones!  Across from the square somewhere there is always a Church or a Cathedral.

In Merida the MACAY Museum of Modern Art is right next to the Cathedral and the Olimpo Cultural Center, with revolving exhibits and presentations of all sorts is also on the Central Square.  Mexicans can be very vague when sending you in a general direction in response to asking how to find a certain place… or maybe it’s my less than stellar Spanish in understanding what they are telling me, but after getting directions, I find myself wandering around quite abit before actually finding what I am looking for.  Lack of signage is a factor as well… While I was searching for the Macay Museum, however, I stumbled upon a long archway arcade full of sculpture and THAT led into the Museum. 

 

One of the most important buildings on the Square is the Governor’s Palace, which has been preserved and is open to the public for viewing.  

It’s a stunning building with amazing murals and a long room full of paintings telling the gory story of the conquest of the Maya with great pomp and pride.  It’s actually a bit disturbing, in my opinion, but it’s well worth a visit.

Other buildings include historic homes that are now museums.  Along the square most buildings have magnificent arches with a wide shaded tiled walk ways  between the outer sidewalk and the inner buildings, which are full of restaurants and shops that spill over with tables and displays into this strolling area.  Prices of course are high here, but just around the corner can be found the local economical eatery too. 

 There is so much to share about this cultural Mecca of downtown Merida, I will have to break it down in sections for different posts, but this is probably enough for this one.