Hacienda Chichí Suárez Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Hacienda Chichí Suárez
Private Residence
Entrance Hacienda Chichí Suárez, Yucatán.
Hacienda Chichí Suárez Location in Mexico
Country	Mexico
Mexican States	Yucatán
Municipalities	Mérida Municipality
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Postal code	97306
Area code	999

Hacienda Chichí Suárez is an old and interesting property in the Mérida Municipality in Yucatán, Mexico. It was once a big farm that grew a plant called henequen. This plant was very important for making ropes and other things. The hacienda has a long history, owned by important people like a Spanish explorer and even governors of Yucatán. It is one of the oldest buildings in Mérida.

What's in a Name?
Finding the Hacienda
A Journey Through Time: The Hacienda's History
The Hacienda's Buildings and Design
People and the Hacienda
Photo gallery
See also

What's in a Name?

The name Chichí Suárez is a mix of two languages! Chichí comes from the Mayan language and means grandmother. Suárez is a Spanish family name. It belonged to one of the people who owned the hacienda a long time ago. So, it is like "Grandmother Suárez's place."

Finding the Hacienda

You can find Hacienda Chichí Suárez in the northeast part of Mérida. It is located near the Periférico, which is a big ring road around the city. Look for it where Calle 35 meets Calle 14 in an area called Colonia Chichí Suárez.

A Journey Through Time: The Hacienda's History

Hacienda Chichí Suárez was started way back in the 1500s by a Spanish conquistador named Alonso de Rosado. A conquistador was a Spanish explorer and soldier who helped conquer new lands. This makes it one of the oldest farms in Yucatán.

Over many years, the property was sold to different owners. One important owner was Juan de Montejo Maldonado. He was the grandson of Francisco de Montejo the Younger, who helped found the city of Mérida. In 1640, Juan sold the hacienda to Antonio de Figueroa y Silva Lasso de la Vega Ladrón del Niño de Guevara. He was a Governor of Yucatán and helped free what is now Belize from England.

Later, in 1919, another Yucatecan governor, Olegario Molina, bought the property. At that time, it was called Santa María Chichí. The hacienda changed hands a few more times. In 1948, Víctor Suárez Molina bought it and gave it its current name, Hacienda Chichí Suárez. He then sold it in 1953 to Omar G. Díaz y Díaz.

Today, you can rent the hacienda for private parties, tours, and even photo shoots!

The Hacienda's Buildings and Design

Old records from the 1600s describe Hacienda Chichí Suárez as having two stone houses with straw roofs. It also had a church, a well, and places for animals to drink water.

The buildings are designed in a style called neoclassical. This means they have grand features like long hallways with arches supported by tall, thin columns. Some parts of the hacienda have been fixed up and look new, but other parts are still in ruins. Inside, you can see a special design: the shield of Captain General Antonio de Figueroa y Silva. He owned the house in the 1600s, and his shield is a cool decorative element.

People and the Hacienda

Before 1937, many people lived and worked on the henequen plantations like Hacienda Chichí Suárez. But then, the government made a big change called the agrarian land reform. This reform turned most of the large haciendas into collective farms called ejidos. An ejido is land that is owned by the community. This meant that only a small part of the land (about 150 hectares) was left for the original owners to use as private property.

Because of this change, the haciendas stopped being independent communities. After 1937, only the owner's family lived at Hacienda Chichí Suárez. The other people who used to live there were counted as part of the nearby city of Mérida.

According to a count done in 1980 by the INEGI (Mexico's statistics agency), the community had 700 people. There were 369 men and 331 women. Since then, the people living in this area are included in the population numbers for the city of Mérida.