Customs of Yucatán: feast days and tradition

Like Paris, Yucatán is a celebration! Its customs and traditions stand out for their art, humour, values and deep respect for the beliefs of the ancestors.

Festivities that turn life in Mérida into something out of a story.

The customs and traditions of Yucatán stand out for their many religious celebrations and fascinating Indigenous festivals.

Yucatán is a distinctive, emblematic region because of the meeting of Maya and European culture.

Yucatecans enjoy a great many centuries-old traditions passed down from generation to generation and tied to daily life.

The culture of Yucatán is rich and diverse. Its towns are the cradle of customs and varied celebrations — some more lavish, others more harmonious or exotic.

If we consider the dances, food, festivals, celebrations, music and traditional dress, Yucatán is one of the region’s richest cultural destinations.

Among the main customs and traditions of Yucatán is the jarana, the state’s folk dance. This musical style is known for its cheerful sound, blending European rhythms with Indigenous ones.

The jarana is one of Yucatán’s most important customs. A highlight of the dance is the colourful costumes: huipiles and ternos, a source of pride for Yucatecans.

Vaquería: the Yucatecan rodeo

Another of Yucatán’s traditions is the vaquería. Popular across Mexico, it includes dance, music, traditional food and, of course, horse displays and even bullfights.

Also part of Yucatán’s customs, during these events you hear the famous bombas — funny poems that include some Maya words and draw on the Yucatecan character.

Read: Yucatecan bombas: traditions with a wink.

Yucatecan music and song

A land of celebrated composers, Yucatecan song shone in the last century.

With strong European and Cuban influence, genres such as the bolero, the guaracha and the bambuco (with Colombian roots) stand out.

Some notable composers are Antonio Hoil, Armando Manzanero, Cirilo Baqueiro and Sergio Esquivel.

Listening to Yucatecan trova, and doing so in Mérida’s Plaza Grande, is another of the region’s traditions.

This music has its roots in Yucatán, Cuba and Colombia. Mostly ballads with guitar, usually sung by male voices, and romantic in nature. Trova groups have three or four musicians, and you will see them at night around the Plaza Grande.

Getting your shoes shined by the shoeshiners is another Yucatecan custom. This habit is very old, going back to the 1930s and 40s, when — the story goes — men wanted their dance shoes gleaming to attract dance partners at parties.

Today the shoeshiner’s trade still survives; you’ll find several offering the service in the Plaza Grande and other parks, including Los Portales, Parque Hidalgo and Parque de la Madre, and some along the Paseo de Montejo.

Did you know? Some historical figures, singers and even presidents started out as shoeshiners.

If you haven’t tried it, it is a good way to relax, read the paper, or hear some wonderful stories, because these men are encyclopedic urban storytellers who know every tale in the city.

Traditional dress of Yucatán

Regional costumes are another of Yucatán’s customs. Colourful and eye-catching, they complete not only the dances and festivals but also the daily life of Yucatecans.

Two examples are the huipil and the guayabera.

Over time, Yucatán’s traditional garments have taken on changes and additions, yet they keep the millennia-old heritage of Maya culture and the Spanish and Caribbean influence.

Among Yucatán’s traditions, the huipil is the most emblematic. Its origin goes back to pre-Hispanic times. Common among Indigenous Mexican women, it is known for its simple, practical design. The women make the huipiles themselves, with fabulous embroidery. They can be short or long, with geometric patterns, animals or flowers.

Women wear the huipil not only for a celebration or an important gathering: it is part of everyday life.

Among men, the guayabera is the most popular garment — the item par excellence in tropical climates. A symbol of elegance, it reached the region in the early 20th century and is of Cuban origin.

The distinction of Yucatecan food

A mosaic of flavours and aromas, Yucatán’s customs cannot leave out its prestigious cuisine.

Mealtime is almost a rite in Yucatán.

There are many regional dishes marked by tasty local ingredients such as red onion, achiote, habanero chile, pumpkin seed and epazote, among many others.

Its traditional drinks and desserts also stand out, mostly made with regional fruit.

The most important Indigenous festivals

The Maya heritage is one of Yucatán’s hallmarks. There are dozens of festivals and customs handed down by Maya culture, and each town has its own celebrations.

One of the most famous is Hanal Pixán. During this day of honouring the dead, people light candles and resins and offer tasty banquets in their memory.

Another custom is the spring equinox festival, held from 19 to 21 March each year at the foot of the Kukulcán pyramid. The autumn equinox is also celebrated, from 20 to 22 September, at Chichén Itzá.

Colours of nature

Made from the leaves, roots and bark of the region’s trees, natural dyes are a tradition passed down among Mexico’s Indigenous peoples. In many Maya towns this custom still survives.

Trees such as tzalam (a pale red), sabacché (an intense golden yellow), tamay (orange) and cho’o (used to make blue) are used.

Yucatán’s customs are colourful — like its crafts and dyes.

Religious festivals

Religious celebrations are among Yucatán’s best-known beliefs. Throughout the year, different towns hold festivities in honour of their patron saints, usually lasting up to seven days.

Yucatán’s patron is Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. So every 8 December, “Mamá Linda” — as she is affectionately known among the faithful — is celebrated. Preparations begin weeks earlier, in late November, and include Masses and the traditional serenade.

Another figure much venerated by Yucatecans is Saint Anthony of Padua. In June, when the saint is celebrated, people attend Mass and join the processions.

Christmas comes, and so does the Ramada

In December, the streets of the capital and the towns begin to carry the Christmas spirit.

At this time it is common to see children walking the streets with a tree branch in hand, an image of the Virgin Mary and a box for money.

Between 1 and 11 December, you will often find them, with parents and friends, asking for money to hold their own posada. What’s curious is that as they walk, they sing Christmas carols.

Guadalupe-Reyes

One of Yucatán’s most anticipated customs. It runs from 12 December, with the celebrations of the Virgin of Guadalupe, to 6 January, Epiphany.

Guadalupe-Reyes is a time spent with family eating the rosca de reyes (kings’ ring cake). A colourful detail: the cake hides a small plastic figure of the baby Jesus. When the slices are cut, whoever gets the figure has to bring the tamales on 2 February, Candlemas.

All year is carnival

When it comes to Yucatán’s customs and traditions, the Mérida Carnival has a special place. It is not Rio or New Orleans — it is Mérida, and here Carnival has its own stamp.

The celebrations begin the weekend before Lent. They take place on a dedicated site in Xmatkuil, a town a few kilometres from Mérida, though some events — such as the children’s parades — happen in the centre. There are also floats with artistic figures, king and queen contests and stage shows, among many other activities.

Easter: Masses, pilgrimages and Lent

Another custom of Yucatán and Mexico is to observe Lent and Easter.

During Holy Week, Yucatecans attend Mass and keep Lent by avoiding meat. From Palm Sunday to Good Friday or Easter Sunday, various events take place — from a simple procession to a re-enactment of the Crucifixion.

During Lent, one custom is to gather with family and enjoy traditional fish-based dishes or the traditional brazo de reina, a kind of tamal.

More traditions and customs of Yucatán

Using Maya words when speaking Spanish

Very common across Yucatán, the blend of Maya and Spanish words is used at the same time — one of many examples of the meeting of cultures.

Habanero chile, by the bite!

The habanero is one of the spiciest chiles. For Yucatecans, that’s no problem — by the bite, it tastes better — and it is essential to Yucatecan food and custom.

Chela, salt, lime, Clamato and ice!

In Yucatán, drinking beer is like drinking water — and if the chela has an extra ingredient, all the better!

Barefoot we go

If you’re Yucatecan and at home, you’re surely barefoot. Because of the heat, people wear as little as possible, and starting with the feet is a good start.

For sleeping: hammocks

One of Yucatán’s most popular customs. In case you didn’t know: in Yucatán you don’t need a bed to sleep — it is the kingdom of the hammock. Comfortable, cool and very practical, they can also be addictive.

Regional theatre to cry laughing

It includes Maya words and very regional concepts, which makes it unique. A Yucatecan joke is unbeatable.

Varied, generous, free snacks come with a chela: food and beer are an irreplaceable combo. Visit the bars and cantinas of Yucatán and you’ll see, with every beer and every “¡Bomba!” ¡Salud!

As you can see, Yucatán’s traditions and customs are many — religious, festive or based on ancestral beliefs. What other Yucatecan tradition or custom do you know?