My experience abroad in Mérida brought me many new perspectives and insights. But surprisingly, I did not feel a cultural shock in the way most would think. I actually felt that many practices, foods, and sights were very similar to what I experienced during my upbringing. I was also surprised with the progression or ‘industrialization’ of the Mayan towns. I feel like many of the anthropological and historical lectures we sat in before attending Yaxunah definitely gave me the impression that everything was produced in farms or hard labor factories, outdoor bucket showers, and wagons. I was not prepared to live in a household equipped with two TVs, WiFi, standing shower (indoors), and a bedroom with a ceiling fan. It definitely made me reflect about life in America, and how from the beginning of our education, we learn from the European perspective. Which always makes the US out to be THE place. The one with all of the resources, materials, jobs, and the lifestyle for people to be successful if they wanted. After viewing Cannibal tours, I definitely reevaluated my position as a tourist while in the Yucatán. Instead of thinking of México as a third world country and me coming from the US as superior, I viewed my time abroad as a period where I could be one with the community and be on an even playing field. I took this as an opportunity to be a student. To learn about a new environment, language (yucatec maya), culture, and foods.
After visiting Yaxunah, I definitely had to cut back that bias and realize that other places are doing just fine. And yes they are finding their own solutions to gaining tourism while still keeping their community and traditions alive. One thing that I learned throughout this trip is that the conquerors had tried to remove Mayan history from the Yucatán. From destroying pyramids to create their own cultural buildings to the erasure of names/ no mention of Mayans in historical texts or monuments. By no means they did not want Mayans or Mayan communities to have a voice or space to grow. I did not want to forget this because for someone who comes from a non-US island, I have so much respect for the Yucatán and gratefulness to my family for keeping our heritage strong. For teaching me the meaning behind my names, including me on trips back home, showing me the culture so that I always know where I am from. I never had to search hard to find the answers to my questions and I think back to Maria Uicab play and how she said she researched for a whole year to find hers. It has truly humbled me and made me see the whole Yucatán in a new light.
After visiting the different archaeological sites like Chechen Itza and Izamal, I noticed a juxtaposition between how the Maya are portrayed to tourists and how they are treated by their own government. For example, while in Merida we visited many historical and cultural places that emphasized their Mayan history, but then we learned in Chichen Itza that the Mayans were fighting to gain access to their lands. The reading Sugarcane & Rum further explain this separation by stating that for tourist hotspots like Cancun and Mérida, their main attraction is centered around the Mayan history and proximity to pyramids. However, the Maya people who are the backbone of these locations, are “housed away from the tourist enclave” and given their own supermarket and necessities so that they are not seen by tourists. The government only uses the Maya as a selling point for business in tourism, but really, they are working hard to keep the Mayan communities underground and making them pay to even see their ancestral land.
