Piedras Sagradas or Sacred Stones. It’s a video mapping experience on the Gran Plaza in Merida. Lights, art, music, and narration combine to tell the history of the San Ildefonso Cathedral. Projected directly onto the massive, current cathedral, this presents the story behind what we now see. Like much of Merida, it was built directly on top of the destroyed ancient Maya city, T’Ho. Worse than just destroying the ancient city, they actually used the pieces of former temples to build their new cathedral—which is why this presentation is called Sacred Stones. With narration in Mayan and Spanish, it is helpful to have a minimal understanding of Spanish, but like all good visual storytelling, it is not necessary in order to still leave understanding more than you did before the presentation.
This is very wheelchair accessible for all sorts of chairs. The street in front of the cathedral is closed off from traffic, with folding chairs and small bleachers set up along the edge of the Gran Plaza. Get there early and either transfer to one of the seats or position your wheelchair along the end of the front row. This is a popular event so you will want to be there early for the best viewing space. There are park employees who may come over to assist you by moving chairs or possibly showing you to a reserved accessible section. There are food carts surrounding the park, so it is easy to pass the time snacking. Just send one member of your party to gather food, while the rest stay behind with the seats.
My family never seems to arrive early enough to events in Merida, so I can tell you that even if you are off to the side or across the street on sidewalks, you will still have a good experience. Just remember when choosing your spot, that you do not want tall trees to obstruct your view of the entire height of the cathedral. They do an encore presentation after the first crowd leaves. So as most people are walking away, you want to move in the opposite direction to get into position.
Merida has so many presentations that help you to understand Mayan culture and the history of the Yucatan. Most require no tickets or reservations. The variety and quality of these free events in Merida are awesome.
Venture to the San Ildefonso Cathedral, in Mérida, to see “Piedras Sagradas” projected on the façade. This very visual history lesson teaches us about the construction of the current building that stands on the remains of the ancient Maya city, T’Hó. Remember to arrive early so you can admire the facade covered with multicolored flowers in the minutes prior to the show. If you can’t make it, don’t worry! The show runs several times starting at 8:30 pm, so you can wait for a few minutes after the end and enjoy the next projection.