Introduction to Merida, Mexico

1,440km (893 miles) E of Mexico City; 320km (198 miles) W of Cancún

Mérida is the capital of the state of Yucatán and has been the dominant city in the region since the Spanish Conquest. It is a busy city and suffers from the same problems that plague other colonial cities in Mexico -- traffic and noise. Still, it is a fun city and has many admirers. I get comments from people all the time about how much they enjoyed Mérida. People there know how to have a good time, and they seem driven to organize concerts, theater productions, art exhibits, and such. In recent years the city has been in the midst of a cultural explosion.