A historic center full of charm

Merida was founded in 1542 by Francisco de Montejo y León. The construction of the city by the settlers was done on the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Tho. It’s location is perfect to discover more of the region’s heritage and tradition. ⠀

Cathedral

Merida Cathedral is 400 years old, the oldest of all and was the first one to built in Latin America. At night the Cathedral has a spectacle where it is illuminated with many lights.

Plaza Grande 

This is a the most famous square in the white city, the Plaza Grande. You will find the large capital letters in front of which you can take a souvenir photo 📸 . Around this central agora, two emblematic museums, Casa Montejo and Fernando García Ponce-Macay, are absolutely worth a visit 🏫

Colorful streets

The street are colorful and animated. You will be feeling swept away by the joy of living of residents. 🌈✨. The tranquility of the city is pleasant to live in, Mérida is one of the safest cities of Mexico. ⠀ ⠀

Extracurricular activity

 Here you will not only learn a new language but a new experience of life immersing yourself in the local culture. The tranquility of the city is pleasant to live in, Mérida is one of the safest cities of Mexico. We propose visits with a guide to discover the best places of Merida city. ⠀

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1 – Create a routine

Before you start, set your own pace according to your availability, 1 or 2 days a week, it’s up to you. There are advantages to studying Spanish online:

1.Flexibility

You have the possibility to start whenever you want and choose your own schedule and dates.

2.Choice of courses

Multiple offers are available: in groups, alone, with friends, etc…

3.Mobility

You only need to have an internet connection on a tablet, smartphone or computer to access your courses.

2- Courses with the teacher

Do not hesitate to ask your teacher if you have any doubts or questions. Exchange as much as possible to work on your spoken Spanish and introduce the new vocabulary words you have already learned (link to article: learning vocabulary).

3 – Exercises at home

At the end of each session, the teacher can give you small exercises to do again at home. This is the time to take back the notes you wrote during the lesson and to record the vocabulary you have learned. If you need to, you can copy them to make it easier to remember.

4 – Series, movies, advertising and video platforms

If you like to watch series or movies, watch as many as you want with activated Spanish subtitles.

The short films are accessible on all video platforms (example :YouTube).

Commercials are a good way to assimilate the language because they are short and very visual.

5 – Set goals

Set goals each week to progress. At the beginning, motivate yourself to recite the numbers up to 100 and then the following week up to 1000. You will be proud of your progress.

Calle Spanish School accompanies you to deepen your knowledge with online Spanish courses. We offer you a wide range of formulas to help you progress.

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I. Avoid learning vocabulary lists out of context

If You want to master the language in a useful way in your everyday life do not learn random word
lists.
Indeed, it is very complicated to memorize vocabulary in the form of a list. For example the
vocabulary list of cooking (glass, knife, fork, etc.). It’s easier if you do a sentence in context. For
example; I eat with a knife and a fork, I cut with a knife, I drink water in a glass …

Assimilating words that you will not use will waste your time. So it is not very useful to know at the
beginning how we say, for example “pillowcase” in Spanish !!

In the same way if you want to learn Spanish in a professional context, focus on vocabulary related to
your profession. If you want to travel to a Spanish-speaking country, focus on the specific words “to
book a hotel room, ask for prices and the restaurant’s vocabulary.

II. How to review your vocabulary more effectively?

At the end of your Spanish course, allow yourself an hour of rest. Then scrupulously follow these 4
steps and you will see that you will memorize the learned Spanish vocabulary faster.

1. Before looking at your notes, do a little exercise to boost your memory: remember the last topic of
conversation in your Spanish class, the new vocabulary words that came out and write them down.
Go back to the very start of the course. So you will “build up” this primordial organ to learn a new
language, memory!

2. Take your notes and compare the words you remembered with those you wrote down during your
lesson. For the vocabulary you wrote down but can’t remember, try to remember the context in
which they were used in class. To memorize them, write 3 sentences that contain this word with
different contexts.

3. At the end of the day, take 5 minutes and review your notes. Make a list of the words that you
think are essential to remember at the Spanish learning phase you are in right now.

4. The next day, make sure you use this word list in class.

III. Practice the language

There is no secret in learning a language, you have to practice it, this will allow you to improve your
level and maintain the knowledge acquired.
You can do a language exchange with a Spanish speaker. These new meetings will give you fluency,
confidence, you will practice your vocabulary and you will be able to exchange regularly in Spanish.

And if you want to fully immerse yourself in the country to learn the language and live the Mexican
style, let yourself be tempted by the experience offered by La Calle Spanish School.

Now that you have all the cards in your hands, don’t be afraid to get started.

Buena suerte!!!!

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Paseo De Montejo

In the early morning, come for a walk on Merida’s most famous promenade, which stretches over 5,483 metres and was built in 1904. The paseo de Montejo, named after Francisco de Montejo, a Spanish soldier who was the first European to conquer Yucatán in 1542, formerly the land of the Mayan people.

During your morning walk, you can admire the old colonial-style buildings and visit the Palacio Cantón and Casa Gemelas museums.
At the end of the main avenue is a symbolic monument, La Patria, representing the fusion between Mexican and Mayan culture.

Plaza grande

Continue your visit to the most famous square in the white city, the Plaza Grande. You will find the large capital letters in front of which you can take a souvenir photo. Around this central agora, two emblematic museums, Casa Montejo and Fernando García Ponce-Macay, are absolutely worth a visit.

Also take the opportunity to stroll through the Cathedral of San Idelfonso. The Renaissance style building is the oldest and first to be built in Latin America. The building was built using stones from the Mayan pyramids.

 

Punto de Reunión

For lunch, come and eat at the Bistro Punto de reunión. The restaurant is a hidden treasure in the heart of a colourful and carefully decorated house in the centre of Merida. The fusion between Mexican and international cuisine will delight your taste buds.
Dishes are prepared to order with fresh products. The open kitchen allows you to chat with the chefs and follow the preparation of your orders.

José Peón Contreras Theatre

In the early evening, you will find in the centre of Merida one of the most important opera theatres in Mexico. Writer and playwright José Peón Contreras gave his name to the building built between 1900 and 1908. Come and admire the building or attend one of the many performances.

Santiago Park

To close your evening, head towards Santiago Park in the centre of the city. Every Tuesday musical events are organised where you can dance to the rhythm of mambo, salsa and other catchy music.
Many restaurants are also present in the park, offering all kinds of Mexican cuisine at low prices.

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If you are in Izamal on a Sunday, you can discover it all as well as enjoy the art exhibit, the music and mexican folklore held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Zamna Park.

The most impressive building in town is the Franciscan Convent, built on top of the ruins of yet another mayan pyramide.  Its fame also comes from the fact that it was built by Brother Diego de Landa who burnt most of mayan written documents and who, later remorseful, tried to rewrite them from memory.  Go through the Church and the Governor’s Palace to have a better view at the town’s rich history.  At the end of your beautiful day back in the past, enjoy the light and sound show in the Convent’s atrium, Monday through Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Give a stroll around town to have a look at the other 4 mayan pyramides, built on all 4 cardinal points.  The way they were set gave the city yet another name in maya, « the city of the hills, » because once on top of the pyramides you could see far off above the city’s rooves.

You can go to Izamal easily by car or with the local bus, leaving from the small bus station on 67th street, between 50th and 52nd.

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Uxmal (pronounce « Ooshmal »), « the one that was built three times » in maya, was very famous between the 9th and 10th century.  Its leaders even allied once with Chichen Itza’s, bringing the city to its height during 150 years.  But the two cities ended up fighting each other.

Go practice your spanish and discover the history of this fabulous site.  Listen to the story of Uxmal’s Dwarf, magician and seer, who, thanks to his intelligence succeeded in changing his fellow citizens’ minds about his differences and lead the entire city.  The Pyramide of the Magician at the entrance of the site will leave you speechless.  Various other buildings – the Cuadrangle of the Nuns, the Governor’s Palace, the Temple of the Turtles, the Palace of the Doves, the Ball Game – deserve your full attention and any explanation you will get from a guide, if you take one.

Uxmal is part of the Ruta Puuc, an itinerary you can follow from Merida in 1 or 2 days to visit  Sayil, Labna, Kabha, Xlacah ruins and Lol-Tun caves.

From Merida, hire a car to get there or hop on a local bus leaving from TAME bus station on 69th street between 68th and 70th.  Be aware that the entrance ticket for foreigners includes the light and sound show at night (7 p.m. in the winter and 8 p.m. in the summer) but that no bus comes back to town afterwards.

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At La Calle spanish school, we particularly like those in Cuzama.

To go there, hop on a « combi, » those minivans that can be found everywhere in the country, at the corner of 50th street with 67th.  In general, you’ll be on your own, very few tourists take them, so take the opportunity to start a conversation with the locals and practice your spanish ! After a 1-hour ride, you’ll be arriving in the little village of Cuzama.  Some tricycle-taxis can take you for the last 2.5 miles.  Once you are at the entrance of the sinkholes, you’ll be surprised to discover another spectacular means of transportation : a « truc » (pronounce « trook »), a horse-drawn wooden carriage.

The « truc » driver will follow old railroad tracks to take you and visit 3 sinkholes (price of the visit, from 1 to 4 persons, is $MXN 250).  Once again, don’t be shy and start a conversation in spanish with your guide. They are more than happy to share their history, villages anecdotes and special knowledge about the sinkholes.

Plan around 3 hours on the spot since your guide will let you enjoy each sinkhole for 30 minutes and it can take quite a while to go from one to another.

When you’re back, be sure to tell us how you liked it !

Because there are around 600 sinkholes in the peninsula, make sure to visit more than one :

– Cenote San Ignacio, in Chochola (20 minutes outside of Merida)

– Cenote Xlacah, open-air sinkhole in the middle of Dzibilchaltun ruins, a few miles east of the highway between Merida and Progreso

– Cenote Zaci, in Valladolid (surrounded by luxurious flora)

– Los Cenotes X’keken and Samula, in Dzitnup, 3.1 miles west of Valladolid

– Los cenotes Ik-Kil and Yokdzonot, near Chichen Itza

and every single one you can find during your travels, which sometimes are not indicated.  Keep your eyes wide open, as you could have beautiful surprises !

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Particularly sensitive to the theme of global warming, for her latest creations as a stylist, she reuses recycled clothes.

Agueda also designs costumes for the projects of various dance and theater companies. She exhibited her textile and sculptural works at the Mérida Gallery and the Visual Arts Center.

Spanish / From level A2 / 2nd friday of the month / from 4 to 6 pm / 3 people min / $100 Pesos

CALENDAR OF ACTIVITIES

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Do not miss this perfect introduction to the history of Merida and Yucatan!

Price : 50 pesos per person. Minimum 3 people.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE CONTACT US

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A visit that you should not miss if you want to feel Yucatecan!

When : 2^nd Tuesday of the month

Price : 50 pesos per person. Minimum 3 people.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE CONTACT US

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