Valladolid

When traveling west from Cancun or the Riviera Maya to Chichen Itza, Valladolid is the first real Yucatecan town you encounter.

Its surface-level calm belies a bitter history, however. It was built on the site of Zaci, a pre-Hispanic settlement, and the ancient capital of the Mayan lordship of the Cupules. Nothing remains of it today. In 1542, the city of Valladolid was founded by Montejo el Sobrino in a place called Chauaca, which was closer to the coast, but Spaniards found it unhealthy and three years later forcibly took the city of Zaci and rechristened it. In January 1847 Valladolid was attacked and occupied by Captain Santiago Iman, an anti-Mexican revolutionary who recruited the Maya for his revolutionary army. He lost control of these troops, however, as general property destruction and looting started. A Mayan leader, Manuel Antonio Ay, was executed the following July, but this only made the uprising worse, causing other Mayan villages to join the righting. In March 1848, the Spaniards ordered the evacuation of the 10,000 Valladolid residents, but once in their way to Espita, they became easy prey for Mayan guerillas, who massacred them, causing the greatest catastrophe suffered by ladino Yucatan in the entire war.

Today, Valladolid is a quiet town, full of charm. Its residents have a distinctive way of being. On weekends, regional dances and music are presented in the main plaza.