Chacsinkín

Chacsinkín is a small town in southern Yucatán and the seat of the municipality of the same name, about 10 km northwest of Peto and roughly 110 km south of Mérida. The 2020 census counted 2,860 people in the town, up from 585 in 1900, out of about 3,100 in the whole municipality. The name comes from Maya and is usually explained as combining chak (red), si' (firewood) and k'iin (sun or time). Most people here speak Maya, and the countryside around the town is flat scrub used for farming, cattle and firewood.

The area belonged to the Tutul Xiú lordship before the Spanish conquest. In colonial times it was held in encomienda; records from 1704 name Lorenzo de Ávila Carranza and Isabel de la Cerda as its encomenderos. After independence it was placed under Tekax, then in 1867 under Peto and in 1910 under Tzucacab, and in 1918 it became a municipality in its own right. The municipality borders Cantamayec to the north, Tzucacab to the south, Tahdziú and Peto to the east and Tixméhuac to the west, and also includes the villages of X-Box and Xno-Huayab.

The landmark is the church of San Pedro Apóstol, painted red with a bell gable on its front and a grassy plaza around it; it is traditionally dated to the 17th century. The biggest celebration of the year is the fiesta of Saints Peter and Paul from June 23 to 29. Other dates on the local calendar are the Holy Cross on May 3, Holy Week, Day of the Dead and the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12, and families still hold the Maya hetsmek ceremony for babies and the Cha' chaak rain ceremony in July and August. There are no tourist services in town, so plan to stay and eat in Peto.