Museo de la Canción Yucateca

The Museo de la Canción Yucateca is a museum devoted to the canción yucateca, or Yucatecan trova, the romantic song tradition of guitar trios and serenades that grew up in Mérida in the second half of the 19th century. It occupies an old colonial-style house from the late 1800s on Calle 57 at Calle 48, in the barrio of La Mejorada, about 1 km east of the Plaza Grande. It was founded on 5 November 1978 on the initiative of Rosario Cáceres Baqueiro, granddaughter of the composer Cirilo Baqueiro Preve, 'Chan Cil', regarded as the father of the genre. A non-profit civil association runs it, with support from the state government, and most of the collection came as donations from the families of composers and singers.

The visit follows the history of the music room by room. The first covers its roots, from pre-Hispanic Maya instruments such as the tunkul drum, flutes, ocarinas, conch shells and turtle shells to the jarana that grew out of colonial mixing. Next come the founders of trova, with photographs of 19th-century Mérida, original scores and recordings of early songs, and a room for Guty Cárdenas, the great troubadour of the early 20th century, who formed a famous duo with Chalín Cámara in New York in the 1920s and was killed in Mexico City at 26. Further rooms cover the golden age of 1900–1950, with Ricardo Palmerín and Pepe Domínguez, the composers of the later 20th century, the poets who wrote the lyrics, and Armando Manzanero. Along the way are guitars, violins, phonographs, letters, songbooks and medals, plus a gallery of oil portraits of composers and performers by the Yucatecan painter Alonso Gutiérrez Espinosa.

Life-size statues of Pepe Domínguez, Guty Cárdenas and Ricardo Palmerín greet visitors at the entrance. The museum has an open-air stage with an acoustic shell and a covered theatre, where trio and trova recitals are held every week, a video room and a shop selling records, songbooks and postcards. Pair it with the Parque de La Mejorada and the colonial arches of Dragones and del Puente a short walk away.