Urban Life in Yucatan Today  
 

(a work in progress... photos to be added soon!)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The center of urban life in Yucatan today is the city of Merida.  Merida´s growing population, due to the influx of workers from smaller surrounding pueblos, has boosted the area´s need for public transportation and health services. The extensive bus routes bring people into the mercado and back out to every neighborhood near and far. The demand for medical care is high at hospitals like IMSS, where people from all over southeast Mexico come for the best medical treatment available in Yucatan.
Also, as the city grows, the economy grows.  Merida has three malls as well as a mercado in the center of the city where everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to shoes are sold. The presence of foriegn companies here is not unknown, after the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992 which allowied companies from the US to buy land and build here in Mexico. Now Sam´s Club, Sears, Costco and other american companies compete, and often win, against smaller companies here in Yucatan.
The center of the city is alive with vendors, theater, restaurants and churches, all mingling to create a very hectic, but exciting, urban atmosphere.  The people of Merida are never at a loss for entertainment, although it is common to relax in the house during the middle of the day. This practice, called siesta, has many benefits. The hottest hours in the day are avoided and families who practice siesta spend time together each afternoon, keeping family ties strong. Siesta revolves around the lunch hour, the most important meal of the day here in Yucatan. The food is very rich, including an array of tastes. Tortillas, beans, avocados, chiles, cilantro and plantains often compliment the main dish, usually chicken or pork cooked with an array of seasonings.

Public Works      Economy      Family Life      Entertainment

 Public Works
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The governemnt here in Merida provides, among others, two very important services to its citizens. As newcomers to Merida, we have had our own hands-on experience with the bus system, as well as other modes of transportation. The information about the bus routes is not publicized or printed, but rather belongs to a public consciousness. The people who most often use the bus sytem are the lower class, i.e. the poor. After asking many questions and getting lost several times, I have finally gained an idea of how to use the bus system. There are several types of buses. There are "camiones", which are larger buses, sometimes with air conditioning.  These buses cost about 25 cents There are "autobuses", which look like school buses of the US.  These buses do not have air conditioning, but do offer a discount to students and children, bringing the cost down to 12 cents. Also, there are small Volkswagon buses which do not offer a discount.  Most of the buses run from the center of the city through the surrounding neighborhoods and back, fanning out in every direction.  There is also the circuito, which follows a circular path around the center of the city, passing various schools and hospitals along the way.
If a bus is not to your liking, or you need to go somewhere after 10:30 pm, you can take a taxi. There are taxis that always park on designated streets in the center, so it is easy to catch one from there. If you are in a neighborhood that is further from a main road you can call a taxi to come to your house. Taxis range in price anywhere from two dollars to six dollars, depending on how far you need to go.
Public health is another important urban issue, especially in Merida where the population is continually growing. There are three levels of public health care available. The first level of health care is available only to lower class individuals who may work, but do not recieve benefits or cannot afford private health care. These individuals go to the Horan hospital, where only common illnesses can be treated. The next level of health care provides advanced health care to people who recieve benefits from their work place.  The hospital IMSS has new technology and provides specialized care. The third type of coverage is for government employees. They recieve treatment at the hospital ISSTE. Both IMSS and ISSTE provide good care, but the public often views the care as poor because the wait to be treated at the hospital can take as long a month. The problem with the system is that is is not only being used by local individuals, but by people from all over southeast Mexico, and even Guatemala, Belize and Honduras.
Many people do not use the services provided to them because they do not believe the system provides good care or they cannot afford to pay for services that are not covered under their social security plan. A young vendor we spoke to in the mercado works all year round and cannot afford to be sick. He would not be able to sell his fruits in the mercado if he was sick. When he feels he might be getting sick he goes to the pharmacy and buys penicillen, which is sold over the counter in Mexico. This is the case with many local workers who cannot afford to stop working to see a doctor.
 Economy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

In order to understand the economy in Merida, you have to picture many small transactions taking place in order to create a much larger urban economc cycle. When we went to the mercado to talk to vendors about their businesses, we found many similarities in the lives of these vendors. Most of the vendors live in neighborhoods close to the center, mostly in the south of the city. This area is poorer than the north, where the malls and upper class neighborhoods are located. If the vendors can afford to close their stands to go home, the most common mode of transportation is the bus. One young man who was selling combs for your hair and needles said that he rode his bike to the market. He bought his products in larger comercial stores and then seprated the products to sell individually. This phenomenon helps keep some of the money that larger foriegn companies make in the hands of local people. Another young man we spoke with sold fruit, including apples that come from Washington in the US and grapes from Chihuahua in the center of Mexico. He sleeps in the mercado behind his stand. Another woman we spoke with also slept in the mercado, even though she has a house. She doesn´t leave because she needs to make as much money as she can to support her four children after the death of her husband. She has been living like that for seven years. She knows that she cannot rely solely on her fruit stand so she invests more than she earns.
The vendors of the mercado are significant to the economy of Merida. Besides providing fresh foods, they circulate most of the money of the lower class. Only the upper class can afford to shop in the mall. Those who can afford to shop in the mall also prefer the calm, air conditioned atmosphere there to the hectic streets of downtown. Since The North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994, more and more large companies have opened in Merida, drawing more people away from the heart of the city. Before NAFTA, the constitution of Mexico stated that every citizen had right to land. The government owned property on the outskirts of many cities and pueblos that could be used by the citizens.  NAFTA allowed these citizens to sell their land to foreign companies to use for industrial purposes. Although it is rare that a pueblo or small village sells all their land it has ocurred. Many poor people need the money and see a way to aquire it through this process.
 Family Life
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Family life in Merida encorporates all aspects of urban life. As students here we have had the pleasure of staying with families and have learned to apreciate all that goes into running a household. We mainly want to explore household duties and food, although it is hard to discuss these aspects without incorporating other facets of family life. To explore family life in fuller detail, visit the website --------------.
Household duties in upper class families are often performed by a maid, which can be either a man or a woman. The maid in my house helps with the cooking and grocery shopping. In addition, she cleans the floors, makes all the beds and does the dishes. She also takes out the garbage. The garbage here in Merida is collected twice a week, once on Tuesday and once on Friday. In the north of the city they charge roughly four dollars a month to collect the garbage and in the south only one dollar. The two companies  that provide waste disposal are Servilimpia and Pamplona. The electric bill comes every two months. A man comes to measure the electricity used in every household and this is how the formulate the bill. The water bill also comes every two months. The average water bill is 220 pesos, about 22 dollars.
Another important household expenditure is food. Most families buy food weekly, although some products are bought only on certain days of the week. On Wednesday supermarkets offer discounts on fruits and vegetables. The average daily amount spent on food and household products is about 15 dollars. Food is an important aspect of family life not only because it is an important economic factor, but also because family gatherings often revolve around a meal. Lunch provides a time when families come together and share their daily experiences. The father in my household practices siesta, coming home for about two hours during the day to eat and relax before returning to work. Lunch is a large meal, requiring more time to prepare and eat, unlike in the US where lunch is usually on the go. The food itself is always a hot dish, even though it is served during the hottest part of the day. For example, a typical meal at my house consists of either a bowl of beans, which are blended with onion and garlic until they are liquified, tortillas and salsa, which can be either spicy or mild and chicken or pork that is usually boiled or baked. Vegetables such as carrots, a green squash called calabaza , and potatos often acompany the meat. Water or fruit juice is usually served with the meal. My family often has fresh orange or watermelon juice rather than buying juice at the store. The kitchen in my house is very clean. They use only purified water to drink and make ice here in the house. The food is delicious, but very rich. It took time to become accustomed to eating such a large meal in the middle of the day.
 Entertainment
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The following poem captures the spirit of one of the traditional forms of entertainment here in Yucatan, the Jarana.

Jarana
By Lauren Ernest
The baile called to us and we came running
We sat in the third floor balcony
In our red velvet chairs
As the eight-piece brass band filed in
Not bothered by the lack of an orchestra pit
Enter six Jarana dancers
Dressed in yellow, green and red
Displayed in circles of head cloth
And spinning cotton ternos
The men wore white guayaberas and hats
And seemed to toss the women around
Without effort or thought, but sheer grace

When the Baile de la Cabeza del Cochino came on
I elbowed Nicholas
This was the thing we read about
The skilled balancing of a tray of bottles on the head
While whirling around atop some ridiculously small box
I took a pictureand the flash lit the audience
This was it, the Jarana I´d anticipated
The Jarana of middle class professionals
Pretending to be lower class Maya
To enetertain people like us

The curtain fell and we were left there
 With that image
And that realization