Mayan Villages, Yucatan
The class and race differences in wealth and power
of the sisal era persists today. Mayan Indians worked on the
haciendas, in the past and today. After the Mexican Revolution, land reform
by the government created ejidos
(common or public land in Spanish), communal land holdings
from villages whose members had rights to cultivate the land. Optional:
look at a
map of ejidoes in Chetumal, Yucatan (it loads very slowly!).
Most Mayan Indians in the Yucatan live in Spanish towns with their characteristic central square or plaza. Along the main highway connecting Cancun to Merida, several all-Mayan villages still persist. The original free palm-leave roof materials are being replaced by purchased corrugated tarpaper and, even more expensive, metal roofing. Likewise, sticks are being replaced by cement and stucco for house walls as farmers can afford these relatively expensive building materials and, thus, express their higher social status.
