Dzoncauich

Dzoncauich is a small town in north-central Yucatán and the seat of the municipality of the same name, which had 2,818 people in 2020; of these, 2,352 lived in the town itself and most of the rest in Chacmay. It lies about 8 km southeast of Temax and roughly 70 km east of Mérida, on the eastern edge of the old henequen zone; the municipality borders Temax, Buctzotz, Cenotillo and Tekal de Venegas. The name is Maya, from dzonot, cenote, and Cauich, a Maya surname still common today: 'the cenote of Cauich'.

There is no precise record of the town's founding before the Spanish conquest, when the area belonged to the Ah Kin Chel province. In colonial times it was held in encomienda, by Alonso Julián in 1549 and later by Francisco Dorado and Ignacio Barbosa Briceño in 1689. In 1905 it was a pueblo in the Partido de Temax, and in the early 20th century it became the seat of its own free municipality. Its main building is the church of San Juan Bautista, built in the 17th century, a classic example of the colonial religious architecture of the Yucatán countryside.

For many years henequen was the main crop, grown alongside the traditional milpa of maize, beans and chile; today cattle ranching has grown in importance, with beekeeping and poultry farming. The town's big event is its annual fiesta for the Inmaculada Concepción: in 2022, after two years suspended by the pandemic, the main square filled for a children's vaquería and then a night-long vaquería with jarana groups from Motul, Temax, Buctzotz, Baca and other towns, dancing in traditional dress under fireworks.