Los Tres Caballeros a Chichen Itza
We think somehow it is our duty to mention that today the three most powerful men in North America visited Yucatan's most important tourist attraction: the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. If you want the full story, you can Google it and maybe find the Associated Press article from which we "borrowed" the photo shown here. Take a close look at the photo and you will notice something that no tourist has probably ever seen. There is absolutely nobody else near the El Castillo pyramid. In fact, there were no other tourists allowed in the entire park. Over seven million people visit Chichen Itza every year. It is the North American equivalent of the Roman Coliseum or the Chinese Great Wall. Yet, this morning, only three people and a tightly-controlled group of security and press were allowed inside. Hence, we have no photo of our own to show you and no story to tell. We understand that Mexico's President Fox was promoting tourism. It probably wasn't easy to get President Bush, who doesn't enjoy traveling or sight-seeing, to take a two hour detour for a photo opportunity. But what kind of marketing message is it, if the place looks deserted?
Having said all that, there was one glorious day, June 13th, 2002, when we were driving back from the Caribbean to Merida with our visiting children, when a tremendous thunder storm came sweeping down the highway, with rain flooding the road so heavily that we had to pull off. This just happened to occur at the exit to Chichen Itza and since the kids wanted to see it, we drove slowly down through the pueblo of Piste and up to the park, just at closing time. We explained to the ticket-takers that we would be happy to pay full fare if only they would let us into the park for 15 minutes, and they agreed.
And that is how we, too, were lucky enough to have the entire ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza to ourselves and how we took this photo:
Comments
Presidents Calderon and Bush in Yucatan 18 years ago
[...] Remember what President Bush was doing the last time he visited Yucatan? [...]
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Annie 18 years ago
These are wonderful pictures
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Working Gringos 19 years ago
Thanks for sharing The Other Story from Chichen Itza this week. La lucha sigue...
For those who may not be readers of Spanish, here's our translation, such as it is:
luixzz writes: while the three gentlemen were taking photos on the pyramid, the artisans were asking to enter their shops, and The Other Campaign in Yucatan was saying, "Bush, get out!"
Then there's a link to this independent media story:Â Â
Anger Confronts a Mass Murderer Visiting the Ceremonial Center.
The voice of the Mayan people rise up to say: Bush, get out of Chichen Itza! Bush, get out of Mexico!
Using as justification the Trilateral Meeting between the leaders of North America to come to the Mexican Southeast, the man who has earned repudiation from millions around the world descended in his airplane at an airport close to the Archaeological Zone of Chichen Itza to visit the pyramids before returning to Cancun. The legendary owners of these lands were angry over the visit of the mass murderer because they consider it disrespectful to their ceremonial center. They were saying, "How come they let a person like this climb the pyramids, but they don't let us do so or even enter the park?"
The security measures that were taken to enclose several miles around the park prevented the people in local towns from moving about freely and caused economic losses to the artisans who earn their daily income offering merchandise to tourists that visit the park. The protest was led by the artisans of Chichen, who were accompanied by various groups, the majority of which are adherents of the Sixth Declaration of the Lacondon Jungle and participants of The Other Campaign, as well as others who were upset by the visit.
Photos of the protest in Chichen and at the American Consulate in Merida
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luixzz 19 years ago
Mientras los tres caballeros se tomaban la foto en la pirámide, los artesanos de chichen itzá pedÃan entrar a su centro de trabajo y la Otra Campaña en yucatán decÃa "Bush get out":
http://imc-yucatan.espora.org/archives/archive_by_id.php?id=135&category_id=1
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afterwilma.info » Blog Archive » The Three Amigos 19 years ago
[...] Ellen Fields says more on her Yucatan Living. * * * [...]
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