Its colonial center thrives and is full of Maya men and women dressed in traditional country garb; round-faced children with sheepish grins and bright laughs; young, fresh-faced college students in the city's several universities; businessmen in guayaberas and businesswomen in modern dress; young European tourists bearing backpacks; older North American adventurers in hiking shorts from L.L. Bean; loving Mexican couples strolling the Plaza Mayor; vendors clamoring for business; families on their way to church or a fiesta. Merida seems to be a living, breathing entity.

Merida's heart is the Colonial Centro, much larger than Campeche's walled city. Central to its existence are the venerable old churches, the mercado, a meeting place for two cultures, and the unique and delicious Yucatecan cooking. The Yucatan's largest city was founded as the peninsular capital by Francisco de Montejo, El Mozo (the Younger or the Son), at the ancient Maya city of T'ho (Maya in the countryside still use the traditional name, Place of Five Temples, when referring to Merida). T'ho's impressive buildings reminded Montejo of the Roman ruins in the Spanish city of Merida, sealing T'ho's fate and its name. He inaugurated the new capital on January 6, 1542 with the words '... I wish to populate [and] construct a city of 100 neighbors.... May Our Lord keep it in His Holy Service for all time.'

The blueprint called for a rectangular-shaped city graced by wide avenues and a large z¢calo, or main square. They began building the city from the ruined Maya pyramids found there, which provided enough stone to create all the edifices bordering the downtown Plaza and more. Surrounding the city center, where the Spanish and creoles lived, were barrios - lower-class residential neighborhoods - Santiago and Santa Catarina in the west for the local Maya; San Crist¢bal to the east for highland Maya; and Santa Lucia in the north for blacks and mulattos. El Mozo began building his own house - Casa Montejo - on the square during the time his wife Andrea gave birth to their daughter, Beatriz, in 1543. The house still stands (now a bank) and its ornate entrance facade features the Montejo coat of arms flanked by gruesome symbols of his power: two Spanish conquistadors each with their feet on the neck of two defeated Maya warriors.

The occupation of T'ho was not easy for the Spanish. Six months after Montejo founded Merida, thousands of Maya warriors attacked. Somehow, they failed to dislodge the beleaguered conquistadors. In many ways that fateful battle marked an end to the Maya era and the beginning of a colonial system, with huge landholdings by the Spanish, upon which the Maya labored as virtual slaves.

A rustic church served the growing capital until 1561 when work began on the huge cathedral at the west side of the z¢calo using stones from some of the dismantled T'ho pyramids. The Catedral de San Ildefonso was finished in 1598, making it the oldest cathedral on the American continent.
By the late 1800s, henequen was king and hacendados (hacienda owners) and wealthy families built opulent homes along the Paseo de Montejo in the north end of town. Usually referred to as the 'White City,' due to the large number of white buildings, Merida also became known as the 'Paris of the West' because of the French baroque influence of its baronial mansions and its thriving culture.

To enjoy Merida at its finest today calls for time. Time for leisurely lunches under the portales across from the Plaza Mayor. Time for Sunday strolls along the paseo's leafy green walkway or listening to choral serenades in a park under the stars. Time to watch courting couples or old friends sit in S- shaped cement park seats known as confidenciales - close enough for secrets but far enough apart for propriety. Sit in one and absorb the rhythm of life as it reverberates through the park. Or see the city's sights in a romantic horse-drawn carriage called a casela. There's always something interesting going on in Merida.