Yucatecan Traditions 2

“Vaquerias” 

The “vaquerías” were festivities, on which the ancient

landowners celebrated the good cattle production during the year, that’s why the term “Vaquería”. In this celebration the women used to attend the guests and their wives and eventually danced Mayan sounds combined with Spanish music, in honor of the owner of the estate. Nowadays, the “vaquerias” continue being practiced in the settlements of Yucatan to celebrate the saint of the town.

The main attraction of these celebrations is the “Jarana” dance. The “Jarana” is the typical dance of the Yucatan Peninsula, and is the result of mixing the “jota española” and Mayan “sonecillos”. During the performance, couples dance to an orchestra and a “Jaranera” brass band that consists of two trumpets, two clarinets, two trombones, kettledrums and a guiro.

Also during the course of the dance, people usually recite famous “bombas” which are quatrains that pay somebody compliment. The “bombas” can be romantic, playful or mischievous; they reflect the distinctive yucatecan humor.

Though there is no special costume required to dance the “jarana”. Women usually wear the typical yucatecan huipil. Others wear the gala terno. White shoes and a delicately hand-knitted shawl complete the dancer´s costume. Traditionally men dress a typical mestizo garb of white pants and a silk or linen “guayabera”, whit a woven palm hat and colorful bandanna peeking out of the front pocket.

Tradiciones Yucatecas 2

La Vaquería Yucateca

Las vaquerías eran las festividades con las que los antiguos hacendados festejaban a los vaqueros por la buena producción de reses obtenida durante el año, de ahí el término “Vaquería”. Las mujeres atendían a los invitados y a sus esposas y al final bailaban sones mayas combinados con música española, en honor del patrón o dueño de la hacienda.

Actualmente las vaquerías se continúan practicando en los pueblos y villas de Yucatán para celebrar al patrono o santo del pueblo. El principal atractivo de estos festejos es el baile de la jarana. La jarana es el baile típico de la Península de Yucatán, y es el resultado de la mezcla de la jota española con los sonecillos mayas. Durante su ejecución, las parejas de mestizos bailan al compás de una orquesta o charanga jaranera que suele estar formada por dos trompetas, dos clarinetes, dos trombones, un güiro y los timbales. La jarana, es una verdadera muestra del mestizaje artístico.

Asimismo, durante el transcurso del baile, se suelen recitan famosas “bombas” que no son otra cosa que una cuarteta, en la que, por lo general se dice un piropo a la pareja de baile. La “bomba” puede ser romántica, jocosa o picaresca, donde aflora el innato sentido del humor del yucateco.



Bombas yucatecas

Mestiza, joya castiza,

emblema de Yucatán,

un madrigal se idealiza

cuando asoma tu sonrisa

bajo el arco de San Juan.



Ayer al salir de misa

te vi muy sonriente,

pero entre tu sonrisa

había un frijol en tu diente.



Quisiera ser zapatito

que calce tu lindo pie,

para ver de vez en cuando

lo que el zapatito ve.

Vivid Economy

Yucatán is a state with a vivid, active and moving economy.

Information courtesy of: Eduardo Carrillo, Paola Carrera, Clarissa Pérez, Sinthia Piste and Mariel Vera.

At the end of 2006, the governor Patricio Patrón declared that the growing of the yucatecan economy was over the national average. This proves that Yucatan is a safe place to invest and in progress to beat the marginalization.

More than the %60 of the GDC of the state is formed by the communal, social and personal services in fisrt place, and the tourism and financial servives, insurance and the real estate.

Talking about outer trade, the handcrafts are the %75 of the total exportation. Yucatan’s handcraft production is well known for its handmade high quality. It has a variety of 1 500 handcraft articles to export like furniture, honey, tissues, embroidery, henequen, chocolate, crisps and “soskil” (fiber made of henequen, and as it is biodegradable, it is very attractive for the societies worried about the care of the environment).

The farming has big problems because of the appearance of artificial fibers, which has taken the place of the henequen. Nowadays, we can see a little productive development with the crops for handcraft activities. The main crops of the state are the corn and the bean, and only in the southern part of the state the productions grows because of the mechanization and the characteristics of the land; the sugar cane is used as forage for the animals; another important products are: the orange and other citrus fruits, vegetables and various fruits (avocado, anona, pumpkin, watermelon, pitahaya, mango), some grown in greenhouses and sent to exportation (okra, cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper, lemon and passion fruit) .

The livestock sector is represented by the bovine, swine, poultry and beekeeping farming. The fishing sector is located in the ports, like Progreso, Celestún and Yucalpetén, Telchac, Dzilam de Bravo, San Felipe, Río Lagartos and El Cuyo; the main species captured are the snapper, anchovy, sardines, mojarra, snooks, sharks and lobsters). Yucatan has an important forest surface where precious and tropical wood is obtained. The most important industrial activities are the extraction of sea salt in Celestún and the factories of transformation of the henequen.