Shakira in Mérida: Free Concert for 150,000 People

"Good evening, Mérida! Tonight is yours!" was the greeting, as award-winning, Colombian singer Shakira appeared on the stage. The answering cheer, from the amassed crowd of 150,000 people, could surely have been heard back in Cancún.

None of them had paid a single peso to be here. The performance was a gift from the city authorities. The mayor's office had organized it; a consortium of business people had paid for it. Now Shakira was here and the people of Mérida were having the time of their lives.



Shakira entertained the city for two hours, playing all of her greatest hits, including 'Pies Descalzos', 'Hips Don’t Lie', 'Te Dejo Madrid', 'La Tortura', 'Loba' and 'Antes de las Seis'. A surprise addition to the set-list was a cover of the US band, Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', which was received very well by the exuberant masses.

Her encore, of course, was 'Waka, Waka (This Time for Africa)', which was the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Watching from the wings was her own favourite international footballer. Boyfriend Gerard Piqué, centre back for Barcelona FC, and one of the key players for the Spanish team that won the World Cup last year, accompanied Shakira to Mérida.



Tickets were handed out at special 'one-stop shops' around the city, in the days leading up to the event. The majority of people stood, but there was preferential seating for the disabled and for youngsters who had demonstrated outstanding academic or sporting prowess. Teachers and coaches were previously invited to nominate students for the treat, with organizers choosing who to honor based on their records and stories.

Land around a former railway station, La Plancha, was cleared and developed, in order to hold this free concert on Saturday night. It had previously been derelict and overgrown, but now promises to be a venue for future events in Mérida.



However, not everyone was happy. Some protesters boycotted the concert, whilst campaigning against the use of public money for it. They argued that, though Shakira's fee had been paid by local business people, preparing the land came from the treasury. This was money, they maintained, whilst would have been better spent on education or health. They were also concerned by the lack of transparency surrounding costs, through which it became impossible to know precisely how much tax-payers had contributed.

Angelica Araujo Lara, the municipal president of the city, had held a series of public meetings, outlining how the concert would bring tourism to the area. The city's hotels, shops, restaurants and bars would all benefit as attendees were drawn from outside Mérida; while the global coverage of the event would be a great showcase for the city. In short, any money put in by the public purse would be recouped by this boost to the local economy.



With an eye to the incoming tourists, attracted by the presense of Shakira, this concert didn't happen in isolation. In the week leading up to it, several public events were staged, including a huge exhibition of Mérida handicrafts; a folk ballet; a musical review, featuring children and teenagers from the city; and a concert by local bands and the city's orchestra. All of these were free to attend and took place in Mérida's main parks and plazas.

A selection of fan-made videos, filmed at the Mérida concert, can be found at Yazmín MK's 'My Shaki Blog'.

Protecting the Queen Conch at Xel-Há

There is so much to see and do at Xel-Há Water Park. It's billed as 'the largest natural aquarium in the world'. With all that there is on offer, tourists often miss that they are seeing something very rare indeed. This is the home of the endangered Queen Conch! Over-exploited by generations of fishing, this reclusive creature is on the very brink of extinction. Yet, armed with funding from the European Union, scientists from three continents have now arrived to see what they can do.


The Queen Conch (pronounced Konk-g) has fascinated humans for centuries. Their meat is a staple of the finer restaurants. It is second, in culinary popularity, only to the escargot, when it comes to edible snails. Nothing goes to waste, as every part of the conch can be devoured, though many profess to enjoying the 'white' meat only.

Their ornate pink shells often turn up in shops, bought to decorate private aquariums or to hang about in the garden. More prosaicly, conch shells have been used as home security, embedded into the top of walls, where the sharpened edges deter those thinking of climbing over.

Depictions of the ancient Maya have shown them using these shells as ink wells or bugles. Children of all ages still love to blow into the emptied shells, to produce a deep, resounding noise; or to listen into them to hear 'the sound of the ocean'.

Pink pearls are sometimes found inside these shells. They are destined to be fitted into beautiful jewellry.


The conch isn't known for its speed of flight. It's the original sitting duck, just waiting for someone to pluck it from the seabed and take it to its doom. As a result, the 'harvest' of Queen Conch has gone on unabated throughout all of recorded history. It's only as recently as 2003 that it was recognized how critically endangered it had become.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) recommended that a blanket ban on the import and export of conch be effected immediately. Most Caribbean countries have complied. Domestically, there are also either bans or restrictions placed upon fishing Queen Conch.

In the Mexico state of Yucatan, the Queen Conch is protected at all times of the year. Next door, in Quintana Roo, fishing it is prohibited during the months of February through to October. Even during the rest of the year, only Queen Conch of a certain girth may be taken from the ocean.

For those tourists who have managed to purchase Queen Conch shells, or items made from them, then a shock may await them at home. In some European countries, these are the number one most seized items by customs. They take CITES recommendations very seriously.


Which leads us nicely to what is happening in Xel-Há Water Park right now. In 2009, staff at the park teamed up with academics from the Centre for Research and Advanced Studies of National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV-IPN), based in Mérida. Their project is entitled, 'Protection and Preservation of Queen Conch (Strombus gigas)', and is headed up by award-winning environmental specialist, Dr. Dalila Aldana Aranda.

The aim of the project is to study the Queen Conch, discovering more about their biological cycle and the circumstances in which it thrives. Moreover, additional data about climate change can be gathered from examining the shells. The idea is to work out how to protect the remaining creatures and to help the species back from its critical state.

Recently, the European Union got on board. Their money has not only allowed the purchase of some important, but expensive, equipment to aid this research, but it's also been used to bring in more specialists. Australia's James Cook University and France's University of Western Brittany have both sent people trained in this field. Erwan Amice, Laurent Chauvaud and Thomas Stieglitz now work full time, under the direction of Dr Aldana.


Dr Aldana at Xel-Há
Of course, for the rest of Xel-Há Water Park, live goes on as normal. Tourists jump off cliffs into crystalline waters; lounge on hammocks on white sand beaches; discover the jungle, on foot or on a hired bicycle; or vist the El Dorado cave, with its unique geological formations around a blue-green pool.

But for those snorkelling, scuba diving or sea trekking, in the open Caribbean Sea, then a glimpse of something very special might await. They might spot the Queen Conch waiting on the ocean floor, easily seen through those clear waters; or they could observe the academics at their vital work, studying and protecting this endangered species.

Next time you are there, keep a sharp eye open. Unless the project is successful, then you might be the last generation ever to see a live Queen Conch.




Tulum & Xel-Ha All Inclusive
Combine Maya history with natural beauty! Tour the Tulúm ruins, then swim in the Xel Ha natural aquarium.

Xel-Ha All Inclusive
An incredible natural aquatic theme park and Mayan archaelogical ruins.

Miss Mexico is Miss Universe 2010

Last week, Ximena Navarrete, Miss Mexico, stepped from the crowd of 83 international beauties to claim the title of Miss Universe 2010. In a star-studded gala, held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Miss Mexico was officially named the most beautiful woman on the planet.

Ximena Navarrete is 22 years old and hails from Guadalajara, Jalisco. She won the Nuestra Belleza Mexico pageant, in Mérida, Yucatán, in September, 2009, in order to take the international stage as Miss Mexico. Before her modelling career so spectacularly took off, she was studying nutrition, at Universidad del Valle de Atemajac (University of the Valley of Atemajac), in Zapopan, Mexico.

The beauty queen's real name is Jimena Navarrete Rosete, but she prefers to render it in the Maya spelling of Ximena. She is one of two children of dentists, Carlos Navarrete and Gabriela Rosete. After being crowned, she told reporters, ""I imagine that they're all going crazy in Mexico right now. I'm extremely proud and I'm sure they're very proud, too."

It would seem that she was right as, within minutes of her win, the Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, tweeted that 'her victory would help Mexico's image as a country.' He later commented, ""Her triumph is a source of pride and satisfaction for all Mexicans, who see in her the fruits of perseverance."


Ximena Navarrete in National Dress
Miss Universe is in its 59th year and it is watched by 600 million viewers worldwide. It is organized by New York's NBC and American tycoon, Donald Trump. Contestants parade or dance in national costume, evening dress and swimsuits, with the top placed ladies from each category moving onto the next, until an ultimate winner is announced. The rules demand that contestants are intelligent, well-mannered, and cultured, with applicants, in previous pageants, often failing in the interview rounds. Commentators for this year's Miss Universe have remarked that Miss Philippines failed to win outright, despite being the favorite to do so, because her responses to questions were a little banal.

The next year promises to be arduous for Ximena Navarrete. Alongside her tiara, she has now taken on the mantle of ambassador for a host of causes. In appearances organized by Miss Universe Organization, she will be travelling the world to spread messages about peace, promote disease control and raise public awareness of AIDS. In the process, she will visit some of the most poverty stricken nations and will talk with hard-to-reach groups, like sex workers in India.

Throughout her travels, the onus will be upon Señorita Navarrete to remain flawlessly beautiful, charming and well-mannered. A gaff could haunt her, and her nation, for decades. 41 years after holding the Miss Universe title, Filipino Gloria Diaz is still facing criticism after implying that Cebuano people could not speak articulately in English. As late as yesterday (Sept 1st, 2010), the Vice Mayors League of the Philippines-Cebu passed a resolution declaring Ms Diaz to be a persona non grata.

Ximena Navarrete also earned an undisclosed salary; the use of a Trump appartment in New York; a one year scholarship to New York Film Academy (along with housing and expenses) for after her reign; and an array of clothes, jewelry and accessories appropriate for Miss Universe.

Uxmal (Maya Ruins)

Site: Uxmal

Average time to see the whole site: 2-4 hours

Opening times: 8am - 5pm; then 7.30pm for light show.

Guides: 500 to 900 pesos to hire, speaking a variety of languages.

Wildlife: Iguanas.

Entrance fee: $10

Uxmal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, located 78km south of Mérida. A lot of restoration work has taken place on the ruins, but little in the way of archaeology. Therefore, while the ruins look impressive, not much is known about them.



What has been established by archaeologists is that Uxmal was built between 700 and 1100 CE and housed an estimated population of 25,000. However, The Mayan Chronicles state that it was founded two centuries earlier, in 500 CE, by the Xiu dynasty. After the Xiu aligned themselves with the Spanish Conquistadors, they relocated to Mani. Thus Uxmal went into decline, until the jungle reclaimed it.

There is a pyramid with unusual architecture here, known as the Adivino, or the Pyramid of the Magician, or the Pyramid of the Dwarf. The sides are more oval in shape than the usual rectanglar design. Moreover, there is a legend connected to its building. In Mayan folklore, el enano del Uxmal (the dwarf of Uxmal) was set a series of challenges in competition with the local Mayan king, all of which were orchestrated by the dwarf's mother, a bruja (witch). Part of the challenges was to build a pyramid. The dwarf built the adivino overnight, after the king told him that he couldn't. The dwarf won the competition. The House of the Old Woman, on the site, is said to have belonged to his mother.



Other significant buildings include the Governor's Palace, which has the longest platform facade in MesoAmerica; Nunnery Quadrangle, which is a Spanish name given to the largest quadrangle government palace; a beautifully preserved ballcourt; the North Long Building; House of the Birds; House of the Turtles; Grand Pyramid; House of the Doves; and South Temple.

Several statues and reliefs, each depicting phallic elements, were removed from the site in 1863, ahead of the visit of Empress Carlota of Mexico. The site had its revenge upon another monarch 113 years later, when Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain arrived for the launch of a light and sound show. Despite the event taking place during a prolonged dry spell, as the show progressed into a prayer to Chaac, the Rain God, torrential rain arrived from a previously cloudless sky and drenched the watching dignitaries.

Visitors can climb on some of the structures, looking out over jungle through which unexplored structures poke out. But these are increasingly becoming roped off. As this sprawling expanse of Maya ruins is not prominently on the main tourist trails, they tend to be less crowded than the more famous sites. However, visitors will find more than adequate amenities, including a gift shop, bookstore, hotel and restaurant. There is no mercado, nor lone vendors, inside the grounds.

Please note that it can get very, very hot at Uxmal, so take measures to keep yourself cool in the Mexican heat.

Getting there:

* It takes around 4-5 hours to drive from Cancún. Therefore leaving the ruins at noon is necessary, if you wish to drive in daylight.

* The ATS bus line has a daily bus leaving the 2nd class bus station in Mérida at 8:00 a.m. The bus does a circuit of five archaeological sites (known as the Puuc Route). It waits for 30 minutes at the minor ruins, and then waits 2 hours at Uxmal before returning to Mérida. It does briefly stop at Uxmal before going onto the circuit. The bus returns to Mérida at 2:30 p.m.

* Book into the Villas Arqueologicas Uxmal hotel, which has gates which open directly into the ruins.

Merida

Merida is the cultural and financial capital of the Yucatan Peninsula, as well as the capital city of the state of Yucatan.

Merida was founded in 1542 by Francisco de Montejo, a Spanish Conquistador. It was built on the site of the Maya city of T'ho hills, which had been a center of Mayan culture and activity for centuries. Because of this, many historians consider Merida the oldest continually-occupied city in the Americas. Many of new city's buildings were constructed using stones expropriated from the Mayan ruins and some of those stones can still be seen today in the walls of Merida's main cathedral.

Called "the white city" because of the limestone construction of many of its buildings, Mérida is beautiful, clean and safe. It has a European air about it, perhaps because it is closer to the cosmopolitan culture of the Caribbean islands than to Mexico City. Being located inland, it was not subject to attack by pirates or foreign invaders, so it lacks the fortifications typical of many Mexican cities. Its central area was built with stones recovered from Mayan temples which the Spaniards destroyed. It has a beautiful Plaza Mayor (zócalo), bordered by government buildings and one of North America's oldest cathedrals (late 1500s), but unlike many Latin cities this is a landscaped and peaceful place for family relaxation, rather than one for official functions.

Unlike some Mexican cities where tourism is the main business, Mérida relies on poultry and hog farming in the surrounding area, textiles, light industry, museums, universities, and craft markets. 

In 2000 it was officially designated "Cultural Capital of the Americas". Fiercely proud of their heritage, the residents consider it the cultural centre of the Mayan world, and usually call it "Mérida, Yucatan", without mentioning Mexico at all.

Merida is an inviting place to visit. In the past, it has only been a stopover on the way to the magnificent Maya ruins. Lately, more and more people have discovered what a  great treasure the city is. Merida is a city rich in Mayan folklore and colonial history; a city of contrasting sights, cultural blends, and a warm friendly people. 

Chichén Itzá
Various tours, to suit every wallet or time-frame, to the most famous of all the Maya ruins.