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Mérida Cathedral
The Mérida Cathedral
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Status	Preserved
Location
Location	Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
Geographic coordinates	20°58′1.64″N 89°37′21.32″W / 20.9671222°N 89.6225889°W / 20.9671222; -89.6225889
Architecture
Architect(s)	Juan Miguel de Agüero
Type	Cathedral
Groundbreaking	1562
Completed	1598[1]
Materials	Stone

The Mérida Cathedral in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, is one of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas.^[1][2]

Construction of the cathedral of Mérida began in 1561, and it was completed in 1598. It was the second cathedral to be completed in the Americas (the Cathedral of Santo Domingo, completed in 1550, was the first). It is a unique monument with clear antecedents in Andalusia. The seat of the bishopric of Yucatán, the cathedral was built on the site of Mayan ruins T'ho.^[1][3][4]

The bishopric of Yucatán had an uncertain start. The Yucatán peninsula was explored by Francisco Hernandez de Córdoba and Juan de Grijalva on behalf of Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, the adelantado of Cuba, in 1517 and 1518.^[5] The creation of a diocese in the recently discovered country was urged by Velazquez, who presumed to have jurisdiction over the region and hoped to colonize it. An episcopal see known as "Carolense" was indeed created by Pope Leo X in 1519 (later renamed "Our Lady of Remedies" by Clement VII). But said diocese was not implemented in the territory of Yucatán but in that of Tlaxcala instead and later on was moved to Puebla. It cannot therefore be considered the predecessor of the diocese of Yucatán.

The diocese of Yucatán proper, named "Yucatan and Cozumel," was created by Pius IV in 1561. St. Ildephonsus of Toledo was invoked as the patron.^[6] Two prelates for the new see were nominated in succession by the Spanish Crown but neither could be consecrated for entirely accidental reasons. A third candidate, fray Francisco Toral, was eventually consecrated and took possession on August 14, 1562. He was the first of a long line of bishops, later archbishops, of Yucatán.

The system of vaulting used throughout the building was based on the ideas of Andres de Vandelvira, first applied to the building of the cathedral of Jaen. Indeed, there is every possibility that Vandelvira's schemes were brought to the Mérida project by the first bishop of Yucatán, fray Francisco Toral, who hailed from Ubeda, a town in the Jaen province.^[7]

References to the cathedral can be found in the Books of Chilam Balam.^[5][8]

Land had been set aside for the cathedral at Mérida, the place recycled by the Spanish under Francisco de Montejo as the capital of the new colony.^[6] The colonial city was set amidst the ruins of the Maya settlement of Ichcansiho (T'ho for short), and work for the church was begun shortly after Toral's arrival.^[6] The church was to be built on the eastern side on the main town square, where a temporary building with a roof of palms was erected. It was not until 1562 that construction of the cathedral began. Labor for this construction came from Mayans, some of who still practiced their own religion.^[2][3] Laborers used stones from the Mayan temple of Yajam Cumu to build the cathedral.^[6][9] Two known Mayan workers were Francisco Pool, and Diego Can.^[9] Although architect Juan Miguel de Agüero completed the cathedral, it was Don Pedro de Aulestia who led the initial construction.^[9]

The coat of arms on the cathedral facade was originally designed to reflect the Spanish royal coat of arms.^[9] The original royal coat consisted of four sections containing symbols of gold castles and crowned lions. At the very top of the coat was a representation of the royal crown of Spain. After Mexico's independence, the shield was partially destroyed due to anti-Spanish sentiment. The central piece of the shield containing the castles and lions were removed using a pickaxes and chisels. In 1824, the empty shield was filled with a Mexican eagle wearing the imperial crown of Iturbide.^[10][9] After the redesign of the shield, a second wave of anti-Spanish sentiment led to the entire coat of arms being buried beneath a slab on cement. The cement was later removed to reveal the coat of arms as can be seen today.

On the cathedral facade there are statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. The statue of St. Paul is distinguished by the sword and the book he is holding. St. Peter is depicted holding the keys to the Church.^[9]

• Media related to Cathedral of Saint Ildephonsus in Mérida at Wikimedia Commons

Merida
Municipality
Merida City Hall
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality in Yucatan
Merida Location of the municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°45′21″N 89°31′29″W / 20.75583°N 89.52472°W / 20.75583; -89.52472
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Mexico Ind.	1821
Yucatán Est.	1824
Municipality Est	1918
Government
• Type	2018 – 2021
• Municipal President	Renán Barrera Concha
Area
• Total	858.41 km2 (331.43 sq mi)
	[1]
Elevation	9 m (30 ft)
Population  (2010[2])
• Total	830,732
• Density	970/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
Area code	999
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD
Website	http://www.merida.gob.mx
Municipalities of Yucatán

Mérida Municipality is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing (858.41 km²) of land with the head or seat being the city of Mérida. Because the archaeological remains of the Maya reminded the Spaniards of the ancient city of Mérida, Spain, which was marked by Roman archaeological sites, they renamed the site of T-hó after the Spanish city.^[1]

What now constitutes the head of the municipality of Mérida, was a pre-Hispanic Itza Mayan town called T-hó (Yucatec Maya language meaning "five hills"), which was founded around the 12th century AD.^[1] By the time of the Spanish arrival, the city was virtually abandoned, though still used as a ceremonial center and its remnant buildings were of impressive monumental scale. Francisco de Montejo the Younger established the city of Mérida on the site on 6 January 1542.^[3] In the first year of the conquest, Montejo ordered the establishment of 54 encomiendas in favor of his soldiers and confirmed the three principal municipalities to be Mérida, Valladolid, and San Francisco de Campeche.^[4]

Overlapping jurisdictions occurred for the area at various times with the administration being under the Audiencia de Guatemala in 1549, but also the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1549-1552. Then between 1552 and 1561 the area returned to the Audiencia de Guatemala and between 1561 and 1565 was again administered under the Viceroyalty of New Spain.^[5] In 1617, Yucatán became a Captaincy General in its own stead.^[6]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821^[1] and in 1825, the area was distributed into 15 administrative partitions including Bacalar, Campeche, Hecelchakán, Hunucmá, Ichmul, Isla del Carmen, Izamal, Lerma, Mama, Mérida, Oxkutzcab, Seibaplaya, Sotuta, Tizimín and Valladolid. In 1840, Yucatán declared itself to be a free, independent nation^[7] with its capital located in Mérida. The following year treaties were signed for the peninsula to rejoin Mexico, but by 1842, independence was again declared. In 1843, a new treaty of reinstatement was signed, but in 1845 the peninsula withdrew because Mexico had not complied with the terms of the 1843 agreement. Finally in 1846 the peninsula agreed to reintegrate into Mexico^[8] but the outbreak of the Caste War, in 1847, an indigenous rebellion that took place throughout the Yucatán, delayed the full implementation until 1849.^[9]

The Constitution of 1850, redrafted the administrative divisions and made headquarters for the 17 partitions at: Bacalar, Bolonchenticul, Campeche, Espita, Hequelchakan, Isla del Carmen, Izamal, Maxcanú, Mérida, Motul, Peto, Seibaplaya, Sotuta, Tekax, Ticul, Tizimin, and Valladolid.^[10] In 1918, the modern municipality of Mérida was confirmed as the seat of the municipio and capital of the State.^[1]

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has seventeen councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of Markets, Utilities and Public Safety; Administration; Social Development; Public Security; Entertainment; Urban Development and Ecology; Public Works; Youth And Sports; Women; Health and Disability; Economic Development; Tourism; Heritage; Education; and Culture.^[11]

The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools.^[11]

The Police Commissioners ensure public order and safety. They are tasked with enforcing regulations, distributing materials and administering rulings of general compliance issued by the council.^[11]

The land throughout the municipality is virtually flat, without any areas of the elevation, and like much of the Yucatan Peninsula has no surface water streams. There are cenotes both underground and at the surface (collapsed caverns). The climate is semi-humid, with temperature range between a maximum of 40 °C and minimum 14 °C.^[11]

The head of the municipality is Mérida, Yucatán. There are 158 populated areas of the municipality.^[11] The most notable include Caucel, Chablekal, Cholul, Chuburná de Hidalgo, Cosgaya, Dzityá, Dzununcán, Komchén, Molas, San José Tzal, Sierra Papacal and Sitpach.^[1] Communities of 50 people or more (as of 2005)^[12] are listed below, along with numerous smaller ones (not listed).

Every year on 6 January the founding of the city is acknowledged in a citywide festival. Also annually from 27 September to 14 October is a celebration in honor of Santo Cristo de las Ampollas.^[1]

• La Casa de Montejo (1549)
• Catedral de San Ildefonso (1598), first in the continental Americas
• Palacio de Gobierno (1892)
• Monumento à la Patria (1956)
• Haciendas of Yucatán: 18th century farms associated with the Henequen industry in Yucatán.
• Misnebalam Ghost Town

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mérida Municipality, Yucatán.