Hacienda lifestyle

Hacienda lifestyle
Mexico
Magazine: February 2008

Mornings are high energy in Mérida, capitol of the Mexican state of Yucatán. Haciendas, the driving economic force of Mexico for over three centuries, can be discovered by car while travelling along the carretera (road). At the beginning of the 16th century, Castile sovereigns - who thought they were rightful owners of the entire New World - gave away vast plots of land to conquistadores. Coffee, cotton, tobacco and henequen, the agave plant that sisal hemp comes from, known as Mexican “green gold” during World War One, were produced in the haciendas. In the first decades of the 20th century however, these great estates suffered a blow. In the 30s, sisal production slumped due to synthetic fibres, but during the Mexican Revolution Emiliano Zapata asked that the land be given back to Mayan farmers, and so it was. Many haciendas failed. Then in recent years a few investors decided to restore them, offering learned and demanding travellers the best of that tradition

Mayan Universe
Mayans were called “the Maize Civilisation” and stood for one of the most advanced Pre-Columbian cultures for a good three thousand years. “Mundo Maya” occupied all of the Yucatán Peninsula and - before the Spanish Conquest - was based on sophisticated astronomic knowledge that influenced religion, governed agricultural and social life, and shaped town planning and temple architecture. Mayan chronology is divided into: Pre-Classic period (2000 B.C. -250 A.D. Classic (250-900 A.D.) at their peak, and Post- Classic (around 900-1450 A.D.) when decline started, caused by invasion of the Toltecs, Itzás, and Spanish. The Mayans predicted eclipses, lunar cycles and had established the exact length of the solar year with the Vague Year, divided into 18 months of 20 days each, plus an extra period of 5 days, 365 days total, just like the Gregorian calendar. At the centre of the extremely important cardinal points appears the ceiba (silk-cotton tree), sacred because it put Xibalbá (the In Between World) in touch with the Earth and Sky. The majority of population in the Yucatán today is mixed, but there are also many “full-blooded” Mayans. Spirituality of the Indio today is a syncretism (merging) between Catholicism and animism (of the soul). In inland villages the native, indigenous language is spoken and curanderos (traditional healers) are very popular. Women, more than men, follow the traditional fashion and wear colourful, hand-woven costumes, basic elements of which are still: the corte (skirt), faja (waist sash) and huipil (sleeveless coat) with embroidery of magical importance.

Yucatan cooking
 “Intermingling” is the best word to define Cocina Yucateca, fruit of the encounter-clash between Spain and the Mayan World, with influences and ingredients brought from the Middle East, England and Holland. Mestiza Yucatan cooking, meaning actually “cross-bred”, offers quite a different experience compared to classic Mexican cooking. Condiments from European culinary tradition were added little by little to indigenous dishes: oregano, bay leaf, cumin, onion and garlic. Among basic ingredients that stand out are fish, turkey, and deer combined with papaya, chaya (tree spinach) leaves, lime juice or bitter orange. Chile habanero is a typical vegetable of the region used in preparing the all-pervading achiote Yucatan sauce, made of onion, fresh coriander leaves, bitter orange leaves and salt. Two specialties shine among “national delicacies”: the cochinita pibil, marinated suckling pig wrapped in banana leaves and oven baked; and sopa de lima (lime soup), made with chicken, pieces of tortillas, vegetables, lime juice and habanero chiles.

Amongst hibiscus and bougainvilleaÿ
Hacienda Santa Rosa is surrounded by a pueblo (village) of small square houses, and is a ”little gem”, immersed in a relaxing atmosphere that large family abodes offer, under the fatherly care of Mayan gardeners that lovingly tend the hibiscus and bougainvillea flowerbeds. The outer walls are blue and details are impeccable: fine ceramics and Colonial antique furniture. Just a few kilometres from San José one can visit Izamal, and the Ciudad Amarilla (yellow city). During the Mayan age, Izamal was a city steeped in spirituality. The Sun God and Supreme God Itzamná were venerated in 12 temples. Nearby Chichen Itzá is today the most majestic site of the Mundo Maya (Mayan World). The pyramid of Kukulcán (plumed serpent) towers over the temples. Chichen Itzá and Hacienda Uayamón, immersed in a coastal forest, are around 100 kilometres apart. Some of the buildings have been restored; others left crumbling as they were found. A dip in the pool, set between walls and old columns reminiscent of past feasts, promises five-star warmth.