Yaxkukul Municipality

Yaxkukul Municipality (in the Yucatec Maya language: "where he first worships God") is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán, containing 43.43 kilometres (26.99 mi) of land and located roughly 25 kilometres (16 mi) northeast of the city of Mérida.[2] Survey maps of Yaxkukul cite its full name as "Santa Cruz de Mayo Yaxkukul".[4]

Yaxkukul
Municipality
Principal Church of Yaxkukul, Yucatán
Municipal location in Yucatán
Yaxkukul Location of the Municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 21°03′42″N 89°25′12″W
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Government
• Type	2012–2015[1]
• Municipal President	Jesús Delfino May Tun[2]
Area
• Total	43.43 km^2 (16.77 sq mi)
	[2]
Elevation [2]	8 m (26 ft)
Population  (2010[3])
• Total	2,868
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
INEGI Code	105
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD

History

It is unknown which chieftainship the area was under prior to the arrival of the Spanish. An ancient tradition is that a prince from Zaci (now Valladolid) sent a scouting party, which founded a town at the site. After the conquest, the area became part of the encomienda system.[2] In 1607 the encomienda of Nabalam was joined with Yaxkukul, still later Yaxkukul was joined with Tahcab, and in 1667 was granted to the encomendero Francisco Menéndez Morán.[5]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the coastal region with its headquarters in Izamal Municipality. Still later, it passed to the Tixkokob Municipality and in 1918, was designated as its own municipality.[2]

Yucatán architecture evolved in towns like Yaxkukul, Tixpehual, and Euan on the "preconquest platform foundation" and in the sixteenth century the features of churches consisted of an open view of chapel, the elongated nave and facade of espadana which finally "complemented these buildings in the eighteenth century".[6]

Governance

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has seven councilpersons, who serve as secretary and councilors of public works, ecology, public monuments, and nomenclature.[7]

Communities

The head of the municipality is Yaxkukul, Yucatán. The other populated areas of the municipality include Hacienda Chac-Abal, San Francisco, San Juan de las Flores, Santa Cruz Canto and Yaxcopoil. The significant populations are shown below:[2]

Community	Population
Entire municipality (2010)	2,868[3]
San Francisco	22 in 2005[8]
San Juan de las Flores	20 in 2005[9]
Yaxkukul	2610 in 2005[10]

Local festivals

Every year from 16 January to 10 February the town holds a celebration for the Virgin of Candelaria.[11]

Tourist attractions

• Church of Candelaria, built in the eighteenth century
• Hacienda Chac-Abal
• Hacienda San Juan de las Flores

Bibliography

• Edgerton, Samuel Y.; Lara, Jorge Pérez de (2001). Theaters of Conversion: Religious Architecture and Indian Artisans in Colonial Mexico. UNM Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-2256-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wachte, Nathan l; Andes, Centre de recherches sur le Mexique, l'Amérique centrale et les (1996). Le nouveau monde, mondes nouveaux: l'expérience américaine : actes du colloque organisé par le CERMACA (EHESS/CNRS), Paris, 2, 3 et 4 juin 1992. Éd. Recherche sur les civilisations. ISBN 978-2-86538-255-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

References

1. "Presidentes Municipales" (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico: PRI yucatan. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
2. "Municipios de Yucatán »Yaxkukul" (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 July 2015.
3. "Mexico In Figures:Yaxkukul, Yucatán". INEGI (in Spanish and English). Aguascalientes, México: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI). Retrieved 4 July 2015.
4. Wachte & Andes 1996, p. 262.
5. García Bernal, Manuela Cristina (1978). Población y encomienda en Yucatán bajo los Austrias (in Spanish). Sevilla: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos. p. 341. ISBN 978-8-400-04399-5. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
6. Edgerton & Lara 2001, p. 78.
7. "Yaxkukul". inafed (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico: Enciclopedia de Los Municipios y Delegaciones de México. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
8. "San Francisco". PueblosAmerica (in Spanish). PueblosAmerica. 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
9. "San Juan de las Flores". PueblosAmerica (in Spanish). PueblosAmerica. 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
10. "Yaxkukul". PueblosAmerica (in Spanish). PueblosAmerica. 2005. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
11. Islas Chuc, José A. (6 February 2014). "El lunes 10 acaba la fiesta de Yaxkukul" (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico: El Diario de Yucatán. Retrieved 5 July 2015.