It is about time I took a sharp look at some of the latest developments in the northern section of Merida, that part of town that is the new, almost modern and completely foreign looking Merida when you compare it to what was once the real Merida, the Merida downtown that some tourists never leave and assume that it is all there is to the city.

The old Merida looks more and more dilapidated every day in spite of the municipality's truly laudable efforts to give it a facelift, and the contrast between the two Meridas is becoming more and more evident. Up north, frantic and continued growth has made this part of the city seem like it was a totally different place altogether.

A New Flag
Today, while driving into Merida at night, the municipality was trying out their new giant flag that they have hung from a towering flagpole in their new plaza civica, which is just beside the new Liverpool department store construction that will probably and justly change the locals perceptions of what a decent department store should be, thereby giving the complacent Sears a run for their money. I don't even see what the point of building a new Chapur department store is (on the circuito across from the Hong Kong chinese restaurant), but there are many locals who swear by their original Yucatecan department store.

Back to the flag. Illuminated, it is a very imposing sight and I felt what could almost be mistaken for a surge of pride until I realized that it was a Mexican flag, and who the hell was I, a neurotic foreigner, to feel pride for that flag! All those people who criticize my criticizing will surely think I have gone bananas, but it proves to me that I have adopted more than just the custom of ordering chile habanero and fresh handmade tortillas with my queso relleno. The flag, in spite of the dinky plaza built around it and the ugly steel factory and billboards surrounding it, is a sight to see and should make any Mexican feel proud.

Siglo XXI Development
Speaking of dinky plazas, I have a bone to pick with both the state government and the municipality. Carrefour was the first commercial development to build on the new Siglo XXI site, and I cursed them heartily when they cut down or bulldozed every tree in the area. Later, I came to realize that they had planted many more trees than they had cut down, and that the selection of foliage was appropriate for Meridas extreme temperatures, since they are for the most part, shade trees, with royal palms thrown in for appearance. Rather than taking back my curses, however, I shall simply redirect them.

After Carrefour, the aesthetically challenged convention center was built, and again, a bulldozer and a mindless engineer took care of eliminating the existing trees, to replace them with thousands of square meters of asphalt and that charmless building that was designed by some architect known only to his family; a crying shame when you consider the talent of local architects like Augusto Quijano, Fernando Ancona and others. The finished product, surrounded by open air pedestrian areas and black asphalt parking space, is literally screaming for shade trees; yet, not one was planted. Instead, tiny palm trees that will take at least 20 years to grow into anything substantial and those bushy plants that crop up over all the governments landscaping jobs were feebly planted throughout, leaving the entire area baking in this month's forty degree heat.

The municipality, feeling left out of all the fun, insisted on a piece of land in the new Siglo XXI and they got one, beside the billboards and the trailer park at the end of the development. They too, have planted wimpy palm trees and bushes, around a huge concrete circle where the aforementioned flagpole now stands. The park style benches around this hastily improvised plaza civica are about as inviting as a stepping into sauna on 60 street at 1:00 pm on a Friday in April. The only reason you would want to sit there is if you were a masochist and wanted a severe burn or insulation, or perhaps a tourist with nowhere else to tan.

I would suggest to both entities to exercise their left brain lobes and create some spaces that are a little more in tune with Merida's harsh climatic realities, that are a little more user friendly and not just superficial chest-puffing turkey strutting. A good start would be to plant some really durable green foliage, in particular the ficus, which although not perhaps indigenous to the Yucatan peninsula, has adapted very well and is green all year round, requires little irrigation or maintenance (unless you are one of those mindless Disney-wannabe pseudo-landscape architects who find cropping the trees so they resemble turkeys, large cotton balls or giant dice on stilts attractive. These trees would provide much-needed shade for parking areas, pedestrian access malls and plazas civicas with park benches.

Painted Rocks
It seems that someone in the highway department had some sudden way out of left field creative inspiration and suggested painting large rocks all around the overpass in different colors. Amazingly enough this idea was given the go-ahead and the result is a rather infantile looking decoration scheme; the first image that came to my mind when I first saw these silly colored rocks was that a giant, misguided and very constipated Easter Bunny had hopped through the area.

Pedestrian Crosswalks and Asphalt on the Progreso Highway
While we're still up north, we should have yet another look at those mysterious raised pedestrian crosswalks (mega-topes) that come from nowhere and cross the street to end up in ... nowhere. A year after first mentioning these curious traffic slower downers, there is still no sign of any great plan or pedestrian walkways that will make the placement of these things logical. We will continue to wait and see, and slow down for absolutely nothing. My favorite crosswalk in the entire civilized or even semi civilized world has to be the one that is located precisely where the Cordemex overpass was once located. Now the folks from Cordemex can cross over to the Siglo XXI site or perhaps one of the still functioning henequen processing plants (which by the way are located in the middle of this modern shopping and entertainment and convention center development - you figure that one out!) safely and protected by signs indicating that we motorists are not to run over pedestrians and let them cross the street. At least they used to be protected. Since the pedestrian crosswalk ends on a street on the Siglo XXI side, all manner of vehicular traffic now also uses the crosswalk as a street, making the crossing even more exciting for pedestrians who not only have to dodge north-south traffic but also keep a sharp eye out for cars and dump trucks making wide left and right turns onto the highway.

Speaking of highways, a big thumbs-up to the state government for not only lighting up the entire 20 kms or so Merida-Progreso highway, but also repaving what is already a healthy stretch of same with real asphalt. The difference is very noticeable; much smoother and quieter (for those of us without fancy Porsches with noise-eliminating features). If they can do it in Motul, it's about time that this much more travelled route gets the first-world treatment too.

I'm sure there's more out there and one of these days I will have to take a little drive out to Progreso and find some more goodies to comment on, so my seven readers will know what's going on in the new improved Merida...