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VISITORS TO MERIDA OFTEN express disappointment in the lack of handicrafts. This is a valid complaint, and there is a reason. Historically, the traditional crafts of the Maya people in Yucatan have centered on red and black coral, and tortoise shell. Since the 1970s, consistent with concern for protecting our planet, strict laws have transformed contemporary practices: Coral reefs are protected habitats and marine sea turtles are endangered species under federal protection. Coral and tortoise shell handicrafts are illegal, and it takes generations for new traditions to emerge. That said, there are other products that are in abundance: honey, chocolate, anise liqueur, henequen (sisal) goods, silver (filigree) jewelry, men’s guayabera shirts and women’s embroidered sun dresses (huipiles), and fine Panama hats (jipis). Below are the best shops in town where you will find exceptional value. If you, however, want to negotiate prices, at the bottom of the page we offer to handicraft markets where you can haggle away!
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| Casa de las Artesanias, Calle 63 No. 503 between 64 and 66. Casa de la Artesanias is run by Yucatan State to promote local Maya artisanal craftsmanship; the prices are government-controlled and close to wholesale. The store’s selection reflects a populist sensibility, meaning you will be able to find ordinary items to give to friends and family back home, just to prove you were here. Our recommendation: Ask for Doña Rosita to show you around (she speaks no English, but is full of energy and is very sweet and gracious), and ask her to show you the honey, X-tabetun anise liqueur, henequen (sisal) purses and bags, Sak P’o organic soap line, and palm leaf baskets. From time to time they have a good selection of silver filigree jewelry. Everything else in the store is stuff that, a few years later, will find its way to your sidewalk sale.
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| 100% Mexico, Remate Paseo de Montejo and 49 Street (lobby of the Casa San Angel Hotel). 100% Mexico is an upscale shop showcasing artisanal excellence from across the country. Operated as a franchise of Fonart (Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías, see www.fonart.gob.mx for more information), a federal government agency dedicated to promoting artisanal excellence, this shop offers the best selection of handicrafts in Mérida. Reflecting the taste Hama Abhari, the Persian-born proprietor, exceptional items include the textiles (tablecloths, runners, and shawls), black pottery from Oaxaca and the beadwork from the Huichol people. These are gifts you will want for yourself, and that you will cherish for years to come. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| Collectible Folk Art / Fine Art |
| Tataya Gallery, Calle 72 #478 between 53rd and 55th Streets. Tataya Gallery specializes in Folk Art in the tradition of Nelson Rockefeller: finding artisans of exceptional talent whose works are singular and museum-quality collectibles. Their selection includes fine pieces of Talavera ceramics, Chiapas pottery and ironwork, Oaxacan artisans, drawings and photography. Francois Valcke, a transplanted Belgian via London, has a great eye for work from Michoacan, Puebla, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Chihuahua and Sinaloa. Tataya Gallery also represents emerging Cuban artists. If you find something you love, but are not sure how to get it home, relax since Tataya routinely ships to the U.S., Canada and the E.U. Please click on the image to the left to visit their website.
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For two centuries – from the 1600s to the 1800s – Mexico, along with Peru and Bolivia, produced almost 90% of the world’s silver. Taxco, located about a hundred miles southwest of Mexico City, is home to the most productive silver mines in the country. From pre-Hispanic times to the present day, artisans have fashioned silver into jewelry of incredible beauty. In Mérida, there are two places where you find exquisite silver jewelry: Tane and Casa Frederick Catherwood.
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| Tane, Lobby of the Hyatt Hotel, Calle 60 and Colón Avenue. Tane (pronounced Tah-neh) is a national chain of upscale shops that showcase high-quality, contemporary silver jewelry. Tane’s products are beautiful, but they think of themselves as “Mexico’s Tiffany,” and there is a certain frothy manner of their salespeople. It is also important to point out that their prices reflect the fact that their stores are exclusively located in hotel lobby shops and tony shopping centers – about 30% of the purchase price goes to pay their rent. If money is no object, this is a great place for refined baubles and gifts. The only regret? That whatever you find there is beautiful, but when you return home, nothing about it will evoke “Mexico.” Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| Casa Frederick Catherwood, Calle 59 #572 between 72 and 74 Streets, is the only Fair Trade shop in Mérida. Their collection of silver jewelry showcases the work of traditional Mexican silver work, with a contemporary twist. What is great about their silver jewelry is that it is made by artisans who are part of a National Geographic Society program in Mexico to promote workmanship and excellence; these pieces are sure to become family heirlooms for generations to come. And that this is a Fair Trade store means that prices are about 40% lower than the same pieces by the same artists when sold in the U.S., Canada and the European Union. Be advised: Casa Catherwood does not take credit cards, so stop by an ATM, or have cash or traveler’s checks, mindful that their jewelry prices average around $200-$400 USD. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| Ki’ Xocolatl, which means “rich delicious chocolate” in Yucatec Maya, is a crafted product made of organic cocoa native to the tropical jungles of Mexico. The cocoa beans are carefully selected and blended following the recipes of Belgian Master Chocolatier Mathieu Brees. He and his wife, Stephanie, own this wonderful shop that has won rave reviews and fans near and far. It’s amazing to see how, using European culinary traditions and organic products from Mexico, they have created a line of chocolates that are described as among the best in the world. Visit their store off Santa Lucia Park, located on Calle 53 # 513 between 60 and 62 Streets, or Casa Catherwood, Calle 59 #572 between 72 and 74 Streets, which also carries their chocolates. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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As consumers, how we spend our money has consequences. Make your consumer choices help Maya women working to improve their lives, and those of their families. Mérida is fortunate to have two wonderful cooperatives in town that help the Maya women earn “Living Wages.” Go ahead, make their day!
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| Sna Jolobil, a Chiapas cooperative, has its own shop in downtown Mérida. This cooperative was launched by Walter “Chip” Morris and Pedro Meza in the mid 1990s, after Chip was awarded a MacArthur Foundation “genius” award. The idea was to provide living wages of the women in the villages surrounding San Cristobal de las Casas in the impoverished highlands of Chiapas State. The weavings, made into shawls, bags and blouses, have proved as popular as the Guatemalan textiles that were successfully marketed in the U.S. and Canada in the 1980s, when 225,000 Guatemalan refugees were living in Mexico, under the auspices of the Mexican Government and with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR). Their shop in Mérida offers a colorful array of products from Chiapas, and there is something for every budget. Sna Jolobil is located in the Edificio Condensa on Calle 62 # between 59 and 61 Streets, right next to the Extra Convenience Store, just a block from the Main Square (Zócalo). Please click on the image to the left to go to Sna Jolobil’s website in Chiapas, since the Mérida store doesn’t have one.
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| Prodemaya, a joint venture between the governments of Mexico (Instituto Quintanarroense del a Mujer, IQM) and Japan (Japanese International Cooperation Agency, JICA), is a cooperative of Maya women engaged in the weaving, embroidery and textiles that date back to the Classic Maya epoch, about 1,200 years ago. Under the direction of Grethel Cárdenas and Megumi Toda, this Mexican-Japanese initiative is without parallel: creating a line of products that are of superior craftsmanship, reflect contemporary sensibilities, and that have found fans from New York, Mexico City, London and Tokyo. Each piece indicates the name of the artisan who produced it, the number of days it took to create, the material used, and instructions for care. Prodemaya products are available at Casa Catherwood, Calle 59 #572 between72 and 74 Streets. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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The American Heritage Dictionary defines the guayabera as: A light open-necked cotton shirt, often with large pockets and pleats down the front that is typically worn outside the pants. But where did it originate? Although there are several theories, the consensus is that it originated in Cuba and evolved to its present form in Mexico. (Some speculate that the shirt has its origins in Spain, Thailand or the Philippines, mostly as introduced by Chinese slave traders.) The most widely accepted history of the guayabera shirt had its beginnings among campesinos (peasant farmers) in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba who simply wanted to have more pockets on their shirts to carry small objects, including the local fruit, guayabas. A charming story, of course, but what is firmly documented is that during the end of colonialism trade and commerce between Havana and Mérida was fueled by the end of mercantilist restrictions placed by the Spanish Crown. As a result, the wealthy landowners of Havana and Mérida traveled back and forth, and this comfortable, elegant garment was adopted as an ideal fashion statement during the hot days and balmy tropical nights. So what do we advise clients? We tell them that they are fortunate to have a good number of excellent manufacturers in town from which to choose. The three best are: Presuel, founded by Ricardo Rodríguez Presuel, a Cuban-born Yucatecan businessman, who makes the most elegant and traditional guayaberas; Guayaberas Jack, which has a line of contemporary design reminiscent of the Miami Beach and an American casual lifestyle; and n-KEN (a play on the word “henequen”), which offers a more hipster take on the garment. We recommend you go to all three and decide what is best for you. If you can’t make up your mind, get a Presuel, because you never know if you’ll be invited to a bash in Havana; pick up a Guayabera Jack, so you can give those tired Tommy Bahama shirts in your closet a rest; and buy an n-KEN guayabera, so your teenage son will think you’re cool, when he asks to borrow it.
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| Presuel, located on Calle 66 #417-A between 47 and 49 Streets, with an additional location in the lobby of the Fiesta Americana Hotel on Paseo de Montejo and Colón Avenue. These shirts are so classy that when the Kings of Spain were in town, Ricardo Rodríguez Presuel outfitted their majesties. What more can you say? If his shirts are good enough for the King of Spain, they are good enough for you. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| Guayaberas Jack, Calle 59 #507 between 60 and 62 Streets, gives Tommy Bahama a run for their money. With cuts that flatter the man in middle age, the more contemporary styles are perfect for balmy summer evening wear throughout the United States or southern Europe. Men in their 40s will look like guys in their 30s in these shirts, especially poolside with a mojito or margarita in your hand. How can you go wrong? Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| n-Ken, Calle 60 #454 on the corner of 51 Street. The hipster styling of N-Ken, with its innovative use of linens and sisal reflects the evolving sensibilities of Maya craftsmanship. Operated as a cooperative, most of the employees are Maya women, an added appeal that only heightens street “cred” among the twenty-something crowd. How cool is that? A shirt that, designed by the Maya, looks hip when worn at the new speakeasies popping up in the East Village in New York City. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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| Mercer Cigars, Prolongación Montejo #85 between 15 and 17 Streets, Suite 3 (between “El Cielo” nightclub and “La Parilla” restaurant). Cuban cigars are sold in many shops around town, but anyone who knows anything about cigars knows that they are delicate and require certain care. Cigar smoking, not unlike smoking in general, has declined over the past 20 years, a situation exacerbated here in town by the emergence of Cancún as the principal gateway to Havana. Rather than run the risk that those tempting Cuban cigars in the window have not been properly cared for, we recommend you go to Mercer Cigars, the place for true aficionados. Authentic Habanos, great humidors, a decadent cigar lounge, a solid selection of single malt Scotches … all in the company of other cigar lovers. Who’s this connoisseur of fine Cuban cigars, who ships them anywhere in the world, and who cherishes single malt Scotch? It’s Andrew “Drew” Panico and his wife who opened this swell addition to good vices. Yes, his mother told him not to smoke, but he didn’t listen. That’s a blessing for the many cigar lovers who come to Mérida, and who know that one’s mother, while well-intentioned, isn’t always right about everything. Please click on the image to the left to go to their website.
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In the Yucatán, the Maya sleep in hammocks, and some of the most comfortable, durable and beautiful hammocks are made in Mérida. When the Spanish first arrived, they set up proper European-style beds, but they found out that, because of the weather and the nature of the tropics, hammocks were more comfortable. Today, in Yucatecan homes, you’ll find that bedrooms have beds and hammocks, and that, especially in the summer months, people will sleep in hammocks and use their beds to stack books, newspapers, folded laundry, remote controls and other items, but they will sleep in a hammock. Fortunately, there are many places in town that sell very good hammocks. Decent hammocks can be found at the Casa de las Artensanias, mentioned already, and located on Calle 63 between 64 and 66 streets. But perhaps the best value is found at El Aguacate, Calle 58 #604, on the corner of 73 Street. (Telephone: (999) 928-6429.) When buying a hammock, always unfold it. The craftsmanship is key to its quality, and the weave has to be done correctly. Here’s how to check: Hold the hammock by its loops with one hand, and run your other hand over the weave, pushing down ever so slightly. The weave should be firm. If your fingers slip through the weave, or it feels flimsy (there’ s no slight bounce), then the weave is inferior. The end strings should be counted: don’t settle for fewer than 200 end strings. And the hanging loop itself should be thick and firm, not thin or easily bent. Hammocks come in four sizes: single (sencilla), double (doble), queen size (matrimonial), and king size (matrimonial especial). El Aguacate also sells the “S” shaped hooks necessary to suspend them from the wall, or around a post (think of your terrace or porch back home!). Finally, if you want a hammock that is made of sisal (henequen), the best deals in town are from Louisa Vogel, who sells hammocks only on Sundays at Santa Lucia Park – she speaks Spanish, English and French.
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The best Panama hats come from two places: Ecuador and the Yucatán. The reason palm hats are called “Panama” hats is that in November 1906 Teddy Roosevelt was photographed wearing one, posing at the controls of a Bucyrus shovel, while visiting Panama. “No single great material work which remains to be undertaken on this continent is as of such consequences to the American people,” he declared, than the building of the Panama Canal. What is not so well known is that the hat President Roosevelt wore came from the town of Bécal, in the State of Campeche. These were the best, and they were presented as a gift from the Romero family in Campeche City. The other, more ordinary, hats were brought over from Ecuador. So there lies the paradox: The hat on the presidential head came from the Yucatán, while the ones on the heads of the press corps and lesser officials came from Ecuador. And that’s how the Panama hats from Ecuador – from the town of Montecristi to be precise – achieved world fame, while the straw hats from Bécal were relegated to a footnote in history. So it’s time to rescue the Becaleño from obscurity: In 1859 Father Ignacio Barzuna introduced several Guatemalan palms to the town of Bécal. Father Barzuna wanted to inculcate a weaving tradition among the townspeople, and he brought samples of straw hats from Jipijapa in Ecuador. As a result, the Maya refer to “Panama” hatas as “jipis,” prounounced “hee-pees.” In short order, the Maya became accomplished hatmakers, and their fame grew – from Campeche ships sailed to Havana and then New York and London. What made this industry successful was a series of cave in and around Bécal, sinche the palm fibers become brittle in the tropical heat, and the Maya weavers have to go to the cool and humid caves to make the fibers malleable enough to be woven into hats without the straw fibers cracking. This humidity allows for a tighter weave, and the Maya weaving skills produce hats of such quality that connoisseurs from the world over covet a Panama hat from Bécal. So where can you get one? Go to Sombrerería “El Becaleño” on Calle 65 #483 between 56A and 58 Streets, a few steps from the Museum of the City. A good selection is also found in some of the shops of the shopping center located on the ground level of the Fiesta Americana Hotel. A Panama hat from Bécal sells for severl hundred U.S. dollars in New York, and you can look as dashing at Teddy Roosevelt at a fraction of the cost.
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| The Market to Bargain & Haggle |
| Mercado Lucas de Galvéz. So you want to haggle for the best price? Then the best place to do it is at Mercado Lucas de Galvéz, located a few blocks from the Main Square (Zócalo) at the intersection of Calle 56 and 57 Street. This is Mexico as a shopping bazaar, with stalls and vendors selling all manner of objects. Be mindful that those colorful serapas, mariachi sombreros and anything with an Aztec calendar may be “Mexican,” but it certainly isn’t from the Yucatán. In other words, these objects are “imported” from “Mexico,” as the Maya say of all things associated with the Aztecs – the Maya of the Yucatán’s still hold a lingering resentment of the Aztec domination of their society in the fourteen and fifteen centuries. The Mercado is amazing, colorful and fun. But it can be a bit overwhelming. Here’s one recommendation: One of the vendors that gets consistently rave reviews from shoppers is Curios Lucy. They have a very solid collection of pottery, hammocks, hats and women’s sun dresses, all at reasonable prices. (Telephone number: (999) 923-7491). These merchants, however, are shopkeepers first and foremost: They want to sell, and you want to buy, so go at it. Be especially on the outlook for shawls, hammocks, huarache sandals, and onyx items. Most vendors don’t accept credit cards, so come armed with Mexican pesos.
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| Antiques during Mérida on Sunday (Mérida en Domingo). If you are interested in old photographs, frames and the detritus of yesteryear, then the sidewalk vendors on Sunday at Santa Lucia, and along Paseo de Montejo offer you an intriguing collection of objects. Favorites? Cast irons from the days before electricity; photographs from the 1880s through the 1920s, and glass. Bet you didn’t know that during the seventeenth century Yucatecan families used to travel to Boston and come back with colognes and perfumes … so it is still possible to find hand-blown glass from Boston circa 1680 and 1690, did you? Bet you didn’t know that much porcelain found its way to Mérida from France and Italy during the Napoleon Wars, and some great pieces occasionally turn up. And bet you didn’t know that some objects associated with the Afro-Cuban religion of Santeria was popular during the 1920s, so some vintage artifacts do turn up. WARNING: Pre-Columbian artifacts, articles made of coral (black or red), and tortoise shell are illegal, even if they are vintage, so please refrain from buying them.
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