Mérida, Mexico

Mérida is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, and largest city of the Yucatán Peninsula. The city, like much of the state, has heavy Mayan, French, British and to a lesser extent Dutch influences. Mérida has the highest percentage of indigenous persons of any large city in Mexico with approximately 60% of all inhabitants being of the Maya ethnicity.

It was built on the site of the Maya city of T'hó, which was also called Ichkanzihóo or Ichcaanzihó ("City of Five Hills") in reference to its pyramids. T'ho had been a center of Mayan culture and activity for centuries: because of this, some consider Mérida the oldest continually-occupied city in the Americas.
Carved Maya stones from ancient T'ho pyramids were widely used to build Spanish colonial buildings of downtown Mérida, for example, in the walls of the main cathedral.


Traditional Cantinas can be found all around the city, accompanied with the old style swinging doors along with popular traditional local music, makes them hard not to notice and take a look.


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