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All Mexico Bacalar Bacalar House of Culture
AO Edited

Bacalar House of Culture

This city's cultural center is in a restored Spanish colonial home from the 1800s.

Bacalar, Mexico

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linkogecko
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About

Given the many famous stone structures Mayan people built in the Yucatán Peninsula, one might think that every modern-day city in the region would have some ruins of its own. But not every ancient Mayan structure was built with permanent materials; wooden constructions dating to the culture's apogee have mostly disappeared. This was the case with Siyan Kan Bak'Jalal, the Uaymil chiefdom that the Spanish conquered and renamed Bacalar.

Recognizing the strategic importance of the Bacalar Lagoon and its "Pirates' Channel," colonial authorities had a major stone fort built on the shore. Still standing, this is the fort of San Felipe Bacalar, finished in 1733. Practically all other colonial buildings were demolished. Only one from the 19th century still stands today. Although it was rebuilt once by the state government, the historic building is now known as the Bacalar House of Culture of Bacalar.

The house is likely the only example of a colonial Spanish residence in Bacalar, with its arched hallways surrounding an interior patio and decorated windows on the outer walls. The rest of the city's buildings follow more pragmatic 20th and 21st-century styles. This House of Culture isn't just a "house" though, and its robust cultural offerings include a number of courses for people of all ages in subjects such as painting, writing, English, and dance.

Related Tags

History & Culture History Schools Education Colonialism Pirate Strongholds Pirates Mayan Mexico Cultural Center
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Yucatan: Astronomy, Pyramids & Mayan Legends

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Added By

linkogecko

Published

March 27, 2023

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  • https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=134138
  • http://bacalar.gob.mx/historia
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20071024202924/http://www.e-mexico.gob.mx/wb2/eMex/eMex_Quintana_Roo_ep
Bacalar House of Culture
288 C. 26 288, Mario Villanueva Madrid
Bacalar, 77930
Mexico
18.680371, -88.391318
Visit Website
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Nearby Places

Caracol Chivita Murals

Bacalar, Mexico

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Laguna de Bacalar (Lake of Seven Colors)

Bacalar, Mexico

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bacalar

Bacalar

Mexico

Places 3

Nearby Places

Caracol Chivita Murals

Bacalar, Mexico

miles away

Laguna de Bacalar (Lake of Seven Colors)

Bacalar, Mexico

miles away

Murales del Congreso (Congress Murals)

Chetumal, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bacalar

Bacalar

Mexico

Places 3

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