Yucatan's church of all ages.

• Author: Rasmussen, Christian
• Position: Mexico

THE CATHEDRAL of Merida, in Yucatan, Mexico, celebrates its four hundredth anniversary this November. The oldest cathedral on the continent, it was officially completed on November 4, 1598.

This year of celebration has been marked by church concerts and historical presentations, and, according to the cathedral's Monsignor Carlos Heredia Cervera, plans include the creation of a commemorative silver coin and medallion, honoring the image of the Virgin of Yucatan on one side and the cathedral facade on the other. Both will be offered for sale through local banks.

Yucatan was a great deception for the Spanish conquistadores. No gold, no precious metals, and a land "where there are more stones than soil," as the famous Diego de Landa wrote in his description of Yucatan, after having burned unknown numbers of Maya codices at the infamous auto dele in nearby Mani in 1562. The land was unable to provide the new lords with the fruits and abundance they had dreamed about. But there was one treasure the conquerors could exploit, and that was human labor. The Maya constructed not only the cathedral but all other churches and convents scattered over the Yucatan Peninsula as well.

When Francisco Montejo founded the town of Merida in 1542, a simple church with palm roof was finished the same year. Twenty years later construction was begun on the cathedral on the site of an old Maya ruin, Tiho. Stones from the original building were used, but turned around to hide vestiges of the ancient Maya carvings. The cathedral was finished by the architect Juan Miguel de Aguero, who had participated in the construction of the fortifications of the city of Havana, Cuba.

Yucatan was considered a poor...