Valladolid (; Sakiʼ in
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
) is a city located in the
eastern region of the
Mexican state
A Mexican State (), officially the Free and Sovereign State (), is a constituent federative entity of Mexico according to the Constitution of Mexico. Currently there are 31 states, each with its own constitution, government, state governor, a ...
of
Yucatán
Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida.
...
. It is the seat of
Valladolid Municipality. As of the 2020 census the population of the city was 56,494 inhabitants (the third-largest community in the state after
Kanasín), and that of the municipality was 85,460. Valladolid is located approximately 170 km (105 mi) east of the state capital
Mérida, 40 km (25 mi) east of
Chichén Itzá, and 150 km (93 mi) west of
Cancún
Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...
.
On August 30, 2012, Valladolid became part of the ''
Pueblo Mágico'' promotional initiative led by the federal
Secretariat of Tourism.
History
Named after
Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, at the time the capital of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. Valladolid in Yucatán was established by Spanish
Conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
Francisco de Montejo
Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America.
Early years
Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentag ...
's nephew on May 27, 1543, at some distance from the current town, at a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
called Chouac-Ha in the municipality of
Tizimín. Early Spanish settlers complained about the
mosquito
Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
s and humidity at the original location, and petitioned to have the city moved further inland. On March 24, 1545, Valladolid was relocated to its current location, built atop a
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
town called ''Zací'' or ''Zací-Val'', whose buildings were dismantled to reuse the stones to build the Spanish colonial town. The following year the
Maya people
Maya () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people who lived w ...
revolted, but the rebellion was suppressed with the support of additional Spanish troops from
Mérida.
In 1705 there was another revolt by local Maya; the rebels killed a number of town officials who had taken refuge in the cathedral. When the revolt was suppressed, the cathedral was considered irreparably profaned, and was demolished. A new cathedral was built the following year that still exists; it was oriented to face north unlike most other Colonial churches in Yucatán which face east.
Valladolid had a population of 15,000 in 1840. In January 1847, the native Mayas rioted, killing some eighty whites and sacking their houses. After a Maya noble was shot by firing squad, the riot became a general uprising. It was led by
Jacinto Pat, ''
batab'' of Tihosuco and by Cecilio Chi of nearby Ichmul.
[Ronald Wright, 'Stolen Continents, Conquest, and resistance in the Americas.' 257] The city and the surrounding region was the scene of intense battle during
Yucatán's Caste War, and the Ladino forces were compelled to abandon Valladolid on March 14, 1848; with half being killed by ambush before they reached Mérida. The city was sacked by the Maya rebels but was recaptured later in the war.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, Valladolid was the third largest and most important city of the
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...
, (after Mérida and
Campeche
Campeche, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche, is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, make up the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by the sta ...
). It had a sizable well-to-do ''
Criollo
Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to:
People
* Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system.
Animals
* Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America.
* Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...
'' population, with a number of old Spanish style mansions in the old city. Valladolid was widely known by its nickname The Sultana of the East.
Sights
Valladolid is a popular city in which to explore the history and culture of the Yucatán Peninsula. Notable sights include the colonial-era ex-
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
and church
Convent of San Bernardino de Siena (named after saint
Bernardino of Siena
Bernardino of Siena, Order of Friars Minor, OFM (Bernardine or Bernadine; 8 September 138020 May 1444), was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in Italy. He was a systematizer of Scholasticism, ...
), which was built by Franciscan missionaries between 1552 and 1560 in the Sisal neighbourhood. In downtown Valladolid is the Cathedral of San Servacio (named after
Saint Servatius), located in the main square of the city. The center of the city's grid-like road structure features a plaza — Parque Principal Francisco Cantón Rosado — surrounded by restaurants and shops and filled with "sillas tú y yo" common to the Yucatán peninsula. Located close to the heart of the city is the
Cenote Zací, a landscaped freshwater
cenote
A cenote ( or ; ) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting when a collapse of limestone bedrock exposes groundwater. The term originated on the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where the ancient Maya commonly used cenotes for water supplies, and ...
or underground sinkhole in which visitors can explore and swim. There is also a restaurant on the premises of the Cenote Zací and artisans selling
handcrafts. Valladolid is a popular base for visiting nearby major Maya ruins such as
Chichén Itzá and
Ekʼ Balam, as well as
Cenote Ik Kil. Many principal sites are marked with bilingual signage to make them more hospitable for English-speaking tourists.
Gastronomy
The typical dish of the region is ''Lomitos de Valladolid'' which is a pork dish in fresh tomato sauce; ''
Cochinita pibil
Cochinita pibil (also puerco pibil or cochinita con achiote) is a traditional Maya peoples, Yucatec Mayan roasting, slow-roasted pork dish (food), dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Preparation of traditional cochinita involves marinating the meat ...
'' meat marinated in ''
achiote
''Bixa orellana'', also known as achiote, is a shrub or small tree native to Central America. ''Bixa orellana'' is grown in many countries worldwide.
The plant is best known as the source of annatto, a natural orange-red condiment (also calle ...
'', and spices, wrapped in
banana leaf
The banana leaf is the leaf of the banana plant, which may produce up to 40 leaves in a growing cycle. The leaves have a wide range of applications because they are large, flexible, waterproof and decorative. They are used for cooking, wrappin ...
and barbecued or baked in a pit; ''lechon al horno'', ''bistek de cazuela'', ''relleno negro'' which is turkey cooked with a paste of charred chillies and vegetables with bits of hard-boiled eggs, ''frijol con puerco'' and chicken in ''
escabeche''. Valladolid is also known for its ''
longaniza'' which are a type of pork-based salami sausage with traditional condiments. Local traditional candies are based on materials from the region such as honey, coconut, corn and others. Traditional ice cream is also very popular. The most common flavours are coconut, corn and fruits of the region as ''
guanabana'', ''
mamey sapote'' and others.
Climate
The climate in the Yucatán Peninsula is hot and dry. There is also tropical rain with hot and predominate trade winds most times of the year. Valladolid features a tropical wet and dry climate. The city lies in the trade wind belt close to the Tropic of Cancer, with the prevailing wind from the east. Valladolid's climate is hot and humidity is moderate to high, depending on the time of year. The average annual high temperature is 33 °C (91 °F), ranging from 28 °C (82 °F) in January to 36 °C (97 °F) in May, but temperatures often rise above 38 °C (100 °F) in the afternoon in this time. Low temperatures range between 18 °C (64 °F) in January to 23 °C (73 °F) in May and June. It is most often a few degrees hotter in Valladolid than coastal areas due to its inland location and low elevation. The rainy season runs from June through October, associated with the Mexican monsoon which draws warm, moist air landward. Easterly waves and tropical storms also affect the area during this season.
Transportation
Valladolid has a grid layout for streets and is connected to surrounding areas by federal highways.
Highway 180 and its
tolled variant both traverse the city and connect it to
Cancún
Cancún is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, located in southeast Mexico on the northeast coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. It is a significant tourist destination in Mexico and the seat of the municipality of Benito J ...
as well as archaeological sites. An
Autobuses de Oriente bus terminal situated in the heart of the city also connects Valladolid to other parts of the Yucatán Peninsula.
Gallery
File:Katedrala u Valladolidu.jpg, Cathedral
File:VALLADOLID.jpg, Fountain in Parque Francisco Canton
File:Palacio Municipal Valladolid, Yuc IMG 5991.jpg, Gallery of Municipal Palace
File:Valladolid, kolonijalni grad na Yucatánu.jpg, San Juan Church
File:Kolonijalni grad Valladolid.jpg, Monument to Motherhood
File:Universidad de Oriente, Valladolid, Yucatán.jpg, Universidad de Oriente
File:Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico Abril 2021 - Hotel Maria de la Luz.jpg, Hotel facing main plaza
File:Valladolid-festival Yucatan.jpg, Celebration of anniversary of founding of the City
References
Link to tables of population data from Census of 2005INEGI: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática
YucatánEnciclopedia de los Municipios de México
Notes
External links
*
Valladolid Photo Essay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valladolid, Yucatan, Mexico
Populated places in Yucatán
Populated places established in 1543
Tourism in Mexico
Pueblos Mágicos
1543 establishments in New Spain