Let's Explore a Cultural Space in Campeche and know about "Voladores"Ritual in Veracruz!
Discover a marvelous place to visit in Campeche and the history of Mesoamerican Ritual of "Flyers"
Section: “People Behind of Culture”
Presenting the San Francisco Cultural Space in San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche; Mexico
Para una versión en español de esta entrevista pica aquí.
A magic place for Culture (Mexico Unearthed, 2024)
Today, in the section "The people behind of…", I am super happy to introduce you to Rosendo Rodríguez Chan from the beautiful City of San Francisco de Campeche, Campeche in the southeast of Mexico.
Lawyer by profession and also the founder of the civil organization "Observatorio Ciudadano de Campeche", today I show you who is behind the Espacio Cultural San Francisco located precisely in the heart of the neighborhood of the same name.
His project
He defines his project as a space to express artistic and cultural ideas without profit and to seek positive social change in his neighborhood and his city.
It is located in the heart of the brave neighborhood of San Francisco, which is also the oldest part of the old Spanish colonial town of San Francisco de Campeche, founded in 1517 on a Mayan settlement.
This project has 25 years of intellectual, physical, and emotional work that has given him satisfaction and personal and spiritual growth.
Rosendo explaining with passion (Mexico Unearthed, 2024)
He has assembled almost everything himself with his hands, raising the admiration of neighbors and visitors from Mexico, the American continent, and beyond.
It is not a typical museum, craft store, library, bookstore, or community auditorium—it's all that and more!
It is a space for connecting with people of all ages, origins, social status, and economics.
He welcomes visitors with open arms and makes you love his project and his stories.
It is possible that if you visit it, it will present you with a magical rocking chair that will transport you to the past of this beautiful country and tell you about its customs and traditions.
Here the sea breeze caresses you while you listen to their stories in the magical rocking chair (Mexico
Unearthed, 2024)
The same ones that he has lived and tries to rescue.
Each photo, book, object here is a journey through time, tradition and the Mayan-Spanish mix.
It is worth reserving several hours for this journey into the authentic, without the intention of transforming in artificial to fit into what is touristy and what is fashionable.
The walls of his childhood home are already tinted with the patina of time, but he does not try to hide them because doing so would be like trying to hide the scars of growth and experiences already lived.
Here, you live and breathe the tradition of being a San Francisco native, first in the neighborhood and then in the city.
His story and how the project came about.
His professional training as a lawyer in the government sector leads him to see the different faces of violence, crime, and suicide.
This sensitivity to social problems was inherited above all from his mother, whom he remembers as a loving, supportive, and concerned woman for her neighbors.
She was the one who planted the seed in her soul to not only identify problems but act to solve them.
Thus, with a great passion for life, culture, and art but above all for his neighborhood and Campeche, he feels proud of the effects of his work as an agent and resident leader of change.
Painting of a typical mayan town (Mexico Unearthed, 2024)
In his own words, he builds citizens using culture to attract them and restore their dignity and sense of belonging.
That is, using the dissemination of our Mayan and mestizo roots to attract vulnerable people and groups to the culture and keep them away from violence, depression, hopelessness, and vices.
He knows how to transmit in his space and in his openness and solidarity with people of all classes and social, ethnic, and economic conditions.
He goes beyond the typical cultural disseminator because he also has the will to contribute and give back to life, his state, and his community, as well as the beautiful things he has received from life.
If you like this cause, support it! He covers 100% of the expenses generated by this cultural space.
You can contact him for donations in kind or monetary, attending his events if you visit Campeche, acquiring an object of interest: photographs, books, paintings or spreading his work to more people who may be interested. His work is truly inspiring!
Thank you Rosendo for sharing your work with Mexico Unearthed and revealing ourselves, the person behind of dissemination of culture and traditions!
If you visit San Francisco de Campeche, you must visit him!
Rosendo and I. Thanks for all! I will back! (Mexico Unearthed, 2024)
This segment is sponsored by the Intercontinental Association for Mexican Cultural Heritage (AIPCM A.C, for its acronym in Spanish), a non-profit organization focused on supporting the continued growth and dissemination of the people behind the culture.
Section “The Short Reading”
The Sacred Flight of the Birdmen
Flyers or “Voladores”. Mesoamerican Ritual that challenges the current worldview (Personal Archives, 2019)
Open your mind and imagine this scene: four men climb the trunk of a carefully stripped tree at least 20 m high.
It is not very strange if it were not for the fact that these men are dressed in helmets in the shape of the head of a large bird and wear small garments covered with feathers around the throat and chest, a pair of pants that has a feathered tail on the back and a pair of wings.
They climb in silence using a thick rope coiled upwards along this trunk, and although they do it with a solemn air, they do it quickly.
There are no age limits; one of them is around 18 years old, two others will be in their thirties, and another in their fifties.
They look strong, healthy, and unchanging, always showing determination and total concentration.
When they reach the top, their four position themselves on a square wooden frame whose sides fit perfectly.
The four sides of this mechanism represent the four directions or “cardinal points,” on each of them sits a “birdman” tying a very long rope to their waist or ankles.
This frame, firmly supported with ropes almost to the tip of the immense trunk, can rotate without problem, although with a swing that seems dangerous at those heights.
Finish reading it for free on Medium
Section “The Question of the Week”
This week a subscriber asked me if it is worth using the Mayan Train. This is my honest answer as a traveler.
Although it is already in operation, the train presents small safety and operational incidents that need adjustment for the experience to be excellent.
If you are adventurous, it could be an exciting experience, but if you are looking for something that works like a clock for the price you pay, this is not the option.
It is also not the most practical, economical, or fastest way to move from one point to another in the Mayan world. I hope that this will be fixed soon, but right now, in April 2024, this is the reality.
Leave your questions in the comments, chat or by direct message.
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Thank you so much for reading!
Founder and Editor
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So great that you are building awareness of these unique and interesting cultural journeys in Mexico! I have never been to Campeche, and now I want to go just to visit the Espacio Cultural!
I will definitely visit the Espacio Cultural San Fransicso when I come to Campeche. I salute Señor Rosendo's passion!