Don Joaquín Marcial García Ginerés arrived from Cuba in 1898 accompanied by his wife and brother. As quite a visionary, he proposed a project developing an abandoned part of Mérida. Known as San Cosme, Mayor Don Augusto L. Peón backed the idea. Interestingly, San Cosme was an obligatory passage for the small trams traveling from his Tanlum and Chenkú haciendas to his henequen bale warehouses. This began the Garcia Gineres neighborhood in Mérida.
Don Joaquín García Ginerés put his plans into action. Interestingly, his vision included residential houses constructed from wood with spacious patios. As an example, he built his own home on 20th Street. The project, called “Alliance of Itzimná.” Surprisingly, some of the original houses still exist.
Growth of García Ginerés Neighborhood
By 1904, residents from downtown Mérida trickled into . Now, bearing the name of its founder. Fascinatingly, the Colombian architect Rómulo Rozo designed several of the area’s most iconic homes and monuments. More importantly, Rozo’s fame began with projects such as the Monumento a la Patria on Paseo de Montejo located close to the Garcia Gineres Neighborhood.
Likewise, the architectural style known as Deco Maya began in the Garcia Gineres Neighborhood by Rozo. This style fuses Art Deco with a heavy influence of Neo-Mayan architecture and iconography. Find additional examples of his work in Parque Las Americas.
Parque Las Americas
In the center of Garcia Gineres is Parque de Las Americas, a tree-filled park in four quadrants built in Maya Art Deco style in the Garcia Gineres Neighborhood. Columns throughout the park are dedicated to all the nations of the Americas.
*Not to be confused with the Las Americas subdivision located in the north part of Mérida.
Additionally, observe the Chac Mool sculptures, like the one at Chichén Itzá, steles carved in stone with Maya figures. Pay close attention to all the monuments dedicated to the different countries of North and South America. Subsequently, this style pays homage to the Maya culture in direct opposition to the area’s heritage of Spanish conquest. The park represents the unity of the American people, pre-Hispanic cultures, and socialist ideals.
The first section
in the Garcia Gineres Neighborhood in Mérida consists of an enormous semi-circular fountain with Neomaya architectural influence. It has seven serpentine columns representing Kukulkán.
The second section
Centro Cultural José Martí, represents a Puuc style Maya dwelling, featuring the figures of the pheasant and the deer, iconic animals of Yucatán. The central part is an exhibition room with murals of the American continent and portraits of Bolívar, San Martín, José Martí, Sucre, Hidalgo, Morelos, and Washington, done by the painter Bolaños Gallardo in the Garcia Gineres Neighborhood.
The third section
is the acoustic shell, an open-air theater with a grand esplanade. Its design and decoration refer to the thousand columns at Chichén Itzá and rumored to have a cenote under the concha.
The fourth section
is the kids’ park with games, a rink for skating, bicycling, and strollers; fenced in for safety.
