The pueblo of Santa Elena, Yucatán.
Since the collapse of the ancient great Maya city states, the historic rural Maya would have a house in the village with a vegetable garden and a yard to raise turkeys, chickens, and pigs at home. They would also have a cornfield or two outside of town and supplement their diet by hunting wild game. These times are not gone. These traditions are alive and well in Santa Elena, Yucatan, Mexico.
If you stroll into the town, you will hear the sounds of roosters, turkeys, and even livestock. Perhaps you will see the local vaqueros riding their horses or the ladies balancing their tortilla masa on their heads. You are witnessing a part of the traditional rural Maya lifestyle.
Almost all of the people in the village are Maya and many are living on the land where their great grandfathers lived. They are proud of their village and are happy to meet you. Very few speak English, but those who do love to practice it with visitors. Most of the shopkeepers can speak Spanish, but some citizens here only speak Mayan.
The church is well over three hundred years old and is a fine example of Mission Architecture. Next to the church is a small museum where you can see the mummies and learn some of the history of the town.
In the early 1840’s the town was called Noh Ka Kab and was a base of operations for the fabled explorer and travel writer John Lloyd Stevens. His book Incidents of Travel in the Yucatan has some detailed accounts of the Maya culture at that time. We can show you the room where he and his illustrator Frederic Catherwood stayed in Santa Elena during their epic explorations.
In 1849 the village of Santa Elena was burned to the ground during the intense fighting during the Caste Wars. Some of the locals can point out the bullet holes in the buildings of the town plaza. If the church is open, if you are in good shape, fearless, and have a flashlight, you can climb up the ancient spiral stairs to the top of the church where the Maya sentries posted themselves to look for enemy invaders.
In 1865 Santa Elena was one of the two areas settled by German colonists brought into Yucatán during the brief reign of Emperor Maximilian I. Without outside support or any familiarity with the local agriculture, the colony itself did not last long but a number of the Maya in Santa Elena today have blue eyes or German last names.
The people of Santa Elena love their holidays, and on national holidays and special saint’s days, you can hear the musicians and follow their parades through the streets. The evening celebrations are almost always accompanied by singing, music, and shooting off of rockets or fireworks.
If you time your visit to join in the celebrations, they are glad to welcome you to participate in the festivals.
January
The Annual Fair (fireworks) celebrating San Antonio, the patron saint of the city starts on the first or second Monday and lasts for two weeks.
February / March
Carnaval date depends on when Easter falls that year.
May
Bullfights start on the Friday closest to the 10th of May.
August
Bullfights start on a Friday before the 14th of May.
August 6
Procession of the harvest. (Religious)
September 16
Independence Day Parade.
October 31 Day of the Dead (children)
November 1 Day of the Dead (adults)
November 20
Parade of the Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.
December 7 evening
the Virgen Consepcion, (fireworks) Religious.
December 11
Virgen de Guadalupe.( fireworks). Religious.
December 24 evening
Baby Jesus (fireworks) Religious.
