After two years of being closed due to the pandemic, the Palacio de Gobierno on the Plaza Grande in Merida is now open. I have missed seeing the series of murals by Fernando Castro Pacheco painted in the 1970’s, and being able to share them with newcomers to Merida. These murals and the grandeur of the Palacio de Gobierno were pivotal in helping me understand Mexico and in making the decision to move here.
I grew up in the Southwestern US, in Arizona and New Mexico, and I spent much of my childhood on the Navajo and Hopi Indian reservations. We moved a lot when I was a child. I identified with the Indians, and aspired to be a Hopi Katchina dancer, memorizing their songs and dances when I was about 5 years old. I also wanted to be a medicine man. As a family, we made outings to natural and historic sites in the area, and one of the most memorable for me as that of Canyon De Chelly, a beautiful deep canyon with a level sandy bottom flanked by high sheer sandstone walls that has caves intermittently in the walls. These were used by the Navajos as places to hide from the white men who were at war with them, but they didn’t provide the refuge hoped for, the white men shot their guns into the openings of the caves and the bullets ricocheted off the walls, killing everyone inside the caves. This image was indelibly burned into my mind, that of the white men persecuting and killing the Indians. Therefore, when we were studying the history of the Americas in high school and read the story of the conquest by Bernal Diaz, I was smitten with a fascination and admiration for the Aztecs and the other Mesoamerican cultures of Mexico. Bernal Diaz writes that when the Spanish first crested the pass leading into the Valley of Mexico, they were awestruck by the vista before them. They saw the lush valley surrounded by mountains, and a large lake, surrounded by ordered cities. In the center of the lake they saw the splendor of Tenochtitlan, with enormous causeways leading to it across the waters of the lake. They had never seen anything like it and he wrote that it surpassed his ability to describe it, it appeared like a fairy tale to the Spaniards. I read everything I could about the Aztecs and Mayans, and regaled anyone who would listen to me, about the glories of these civilizations and reveled in the gory details of their sacrificial rites.
But because of my love for the pre-Columbian civilizations, in my mind I could not embrace modern Mexico, or forgive the Spanish the destruction of these great cultures. It is one reason I didn’t travel to Mexico when I did begin to travel, going to Europe where lay the Roman Empire. However, friends and former neighbors of mine had moved to Mexico, to a city I had only dimly heard of and knew nothing about, Merida. I decided I should finally go see a Mayan ruin, and never imagined that I would fall in love with Merida and move here, as I now have. I stayed that first trip, in a hotel close to the Zocalo, the Mansion in Merida, and that first afternoon walked around the Plaza Grande. The Palacio de Gobierno was open until late into the evening so I visited it and saw the murals. They completely changed my mind about modern Mexico. They depict the pre-Hispanic Mayans with such pride, and describe the horrors of the conquest and subjugation of the indigenous people with brutal honesty. The murals are unapologetically socialist and political, which for me was refreshing to see. I can think of nothing comparable in the US, where in contrast we have denied the horrors of slavery and its role in our history. I realized I had misjudged Mexico, that while the conquest was one of humanities great crimes, the Mexicans recognized that, and efforts were made to acknowledge and atone for it. Mexico is a mixed nation where the Spanish interbred with the native peoples and the culture is a mix of both. Far from perfect, but at least they are seemingly honest about it.
I do think these murals are important to understanding the history of the Yucatan and that of Mexico, and missed being able to visit them and share them with friends who are visiting or new to Merida. I am happy they are open, and highly recommend going to see the murals to those who have not yet done so.
To learn more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Castro_Pacheco
