Chemax

Chemax is the seat of the municipality of the same name in the far east of Yucatán, about 28 km east of Valladolid on the free Highway 180, the old Mérida–Puerto Juárez road that runs on toward Cancún. The municipality reaches all the way to the Quintana Roo state line and lies roughly 185 km east of Mérida. The name is usually explained as Maya for "tree of monkeys". The town is growing fast: the census counted 9,973 people in 2000 and 17,502 in 2020.

A Maya town stood here before the conquest, part of the Cupul chiefdom that ruled much of eastern Yucatán. In 1549 the Spanish granted it as an encomienda to Juan López de Mena. On the morning of 4 December 1847, early in the Caste War, rebel Maya attacked Chemax from several sides; its few defenders under Captain Francisco Domínguez were almost out of ammunition when Captain Fermín Irabién arrived with troops from Valladolid and won the fight. Even so, the troops were pulled back to Valladolid soon afterwards and the town was left empty. Chemax became a municipality of its own in 1918. The poet and journalist Luis Rosado Vega, who wrote the words of the famous Yucatecan song "Peregrina", was born here in 1873.

The heart of town is the main square, dominated by the large yellow church of San Antonio de Padua with its two bell towers and carved stucco facade; the state's municipal encyclopedia lists the churches of San Antonio de Padua, La Purísima Concepción and San Pedro among the town's historic buildings, along with the 19th-century town hall. Around the square you'll find the municipal market and old stone houses, some of them in ruins. The municipality counts more than 60 cenotes and many small Maya archaeological sites, but they are not set up for visitors. The big date is the fiesta of San Antonio de Padua, held from 10 to 13 June with jarana dancing.