Kanxoc

Kanxoc is a town in the municipality of Valladolid, in the east of Yucatán, about 14 kilometers southeast of the city of Valladolid and not far from the Quintana Roo border, where there is another locality with the same name. It stands on flat country about 22 meters above sea level.

It is one of the larger communities around Valladolid: the 2020 census counted 3,579 people, up from 2,044 in 2000 and from a few hundred in the early 20th century (377 in 1900). The name is a Maya word also used as a surname; the Cordemex Maya dictionary translates it as "shark", while people in town more often link it to Maya words for learning and reading. Kanxoc is also said to be the origin of the nickname of José María Iturralde Traconis, governor of Yucatán from 1924 to 1926.

The main sight is the old church on the square. Its whitewashed interior keeps a large gilded main altarpiece with painted panels, a carved wooden pulpit, and side niches decorated with faded floral patterns in blue, red and ochre, one of them holding a framed painting of the Virgin. There are no tourist services to speak of, so it makes a short, quiet detour from Valladolid rather than a destination in itself.