Espita

History

The Chilam Balam of Chumayel says the Itzá passed through a small place called Xppitah before settling at Chichén Itzá. Just before the conquest the site belonged to the province of the Cupules and answered to the lords of Ek Balam. The most accepted reading of the Maya name is "little water."

The first colonial record dates from 1549, when the encomienda system was set up. The church of San José was built in the early 17th century, burned in 1738 and was rebuilt by 1755. In the mid-18th century several Spanish families arrived, led by militia captain Pedro Bernardino Peniche. The encomiendas were abolished in 1785 and haciendas took their place.

In the 19th century Mérida's demand for maize pushed the haciendas to grow maize and sugarcane. Espita became head of its own district in 1840. During the Caste War it was attacked on February 15, 1848, and defended by townspeople remembered as the Quince Grandes; families fleeing the conflict settled here, and Espita replaced Valladolid as the main producer in the region. It received the title of villa in 1852, and the railway arrived in 1907. After the Revolution, land was redistributed as ejidos, the haciendas closed, and the economy declined in the later 20th century. Espita was named a Pueblo Mágico in 2023.