Everything about Quintana Roo totally explained
Quintana Roo is a
state of
Mexico, on the eastern part of the
Yucatán Peninsula. It borders the States of
Yucatán and
Campeche to the north and west, the
Caribbean Sea to the east, and the nation of
Belize to the south.
The capital of Quintana Roo is the city of
Chetumal. Quintana Roo also contains the resort city of
Cancún, the islands of
Cozumel and
Isla Mujeres, the towns of
Bacalar,
Felipe Carrillo Puerto,
Playa del Carmen,
Puerto Juárez,
Akumal,
Xcalak, and
Puerto Morelos, as well as the ancient
Maya ruins of
Chacchoben,
Chakanbakán,
Chamax,
Coba,
Dzibanché,
El Meco,
Ichpaatán,
Kohunlich,
Muyil,
Oxtankah,
Tancah,
Tulum,
Tupak,
Xel-Há, and
Xcaret. The
Sian Ka'an national park is also in Quintana Roo.
The state covers an area of, and the 2005 census reported a population of 1,135,309. The statewide population is currently expanding at a rapid rate due to the construction of hotels and the demand for workers. Many immigrants to the state come from
Yucatán,
Campeche,
Tabasco, and
Veracruz. The state, known as a resort area, is frequently hit by severe
hurricanes due to its exposed location.
History
The area that makes up modern Quintana Roo was long part of Yucatán, sharing its history. With the
Caste War of Yucatán starting in the
1840s, all non-natives were driven from the region and the independent
Maya nation of
Chan Santa Cruz was centered on what is now the town of
Felipe Carrillo Puerto. The region was for a time dominated by the religion of the "Talking Cross": in a church was a cross guarded by Maya priests that was said to speak and give them orders. The Mexican government continued to have very little control over this region until the early decades of the 20th century.
Quintana Roo was made a territory of Mexico by decree of President
Porfirio Díaz on
November 24,
1902. It was named after an early patriot of the Mexican Republic,
Andrés Quintana Roo. The Mexican army succeeded in defeating most of the Maya population of the region during the
1910s, and in 1915 the area was again declared to legally be part of the state of Yucatán. In 1931 the territory of Quintana Roo was again separated from Yucatán.
Quintana Roo was granted statehood within the United Mexican States on
October 8,
1974. It is the Mexican Republic's youngest state. Around the same time
Cancún,
Isla Mujeres, and
Cozumel were developed as tourist destinations.
During the 1990s, Quintana Roo was governed by
Mario E. Villanueva Madrid. His administration was alleged to be so corrupt it developed relations with drug traffickers in Colombia. By 1998 the state had become the first "Narco-Political Subdivision" in
Mexico. Villanueva was such a problem for Mexican-American relations that the Mexican Government of
Ernesto Zedillo began seeking indictments against Villanueva once the governor left office in 1999. Villanueva fled the country but was finally arrested and returned to Mexican soil to face justice in 2001. Since that time Quintana Roo has recovered and has become an ever more popular tourist destination.
Archaeology and History of Cross Symbolism
The traditions and religious practices of ancient lowland Maya have remained present in their immediate ancestors. The ancient Maya
(External Link
) ideological and cosmological view of the world was reflected through the long high reaching branches of the Ceiba tree
(External Link). The roots of the Ceiba tree extended and reached towards the ancient Maya underworld known as, Xibalba. When these unique patterns are put into place it forms an equilateral cross that's considered absolutely sacred to them as a reflection of the cosmological world. The sacred cross symbolism of the ancient Maya isn't only reflected as the sky scrapping Ceiba tree but also as an axis mundi or center point of the world. Several Maya ceremonial centers reflect the axis mundi site plan. This type of site plan is centered on an axis mundi which indicates the center point of the four cardinal directions. This quadrangle-like site setup reflects the four corners of the Maya world as well as the four cardinal directions. However the cardinal directions also have religious meaning placed upon them in terms of settlement patterns. Each cardinal direction has an associated color and symbol behind it. North is represented by the color white and is associated with ancestry. South is represented by the color yellow and is associated with the afternoon sun. East is represented by the color red and is associated with the rising morning sun. West is represented by the color black and is associated with the idea of night, death and setting sun. With each of the four directions and their individual symbols the four points of the equilateral Maya cross is formed. The cross symbolism is then reflected in the settlement patterns and household groupings of the ancient Maya as determined by a structure’s placement within a site (Harrison: 1981).The ancient Maya created an array of sacred cross sculptures, murals and planned the construction of their cities to reflect this sacred cross symbolism (Freidel: 1993). There are a multitude of Classic Maya sites that have the sacred cross depicted through various art forms.
Sites such as; Palenque, Copan, and Tikal have similar depictions of the sacred cross. Follow the link to see the foliated cross at the ancient Maya site of Palenque:
(External Link)
Syncretism of the Maya Cross symbol
The ancient lowland Maya remembered the importance of the cross symbolism and passed those ideas on to the subsequent generations that followed. When the Spanish conquistadores came to the New World carrying with them a totem that held one of their most sacred of symbols of ancient Maya many of them slowly began to convert to Roman Catholicism. However, in the end the Maya still held tenaciously to their own beliefs and religious practices by incorporating the Roman Catholic symbolism with their own. This
syncretism of the old and of the new religion is still witnessed throughout much of the contemporary Maya lowlands. The contemporary Maya practice many of the same rituals that were practiced by their ancestors. However now there's an infusion of Christian beliefs along with the ritualistic practices of the Maya. The combination of Maya and Christian beliefs has to a certain degree altered their religious identities. Two different crosses formed from this infusion of Roman Catholicism and ancient Maya religion
Follow the link to see the foliated cross with quetzal bird of the ancient Maya: http://www.famsi.org/reports/99034/images/fig04.gif
Follow the link to see the Roman Catholic cross of the contemporary Maya of Quintana Roo and Yucatan:[ http://www.famsi.org/reports/99034/images/fig23.jpg]
The Contemporary Maya of Quintana Roo
In the Mexican states of Quintana Roo and Yucatan there's a strong presence and sacredness placed upon the cross symbol. At present the cross reflects more of a Roman Catholic tradition amongst the contemporary Maya then that of the ancient Maya’s equilateral sacred cross. The contemporary Maya of Quintana Roo assert that the cross is one of the most sacred symbols from their point of view. The contemporary lowland Maya of Quintana Roo see the cross symbol present in their everyday lives ranging from the intersection of a streets, to the beams in their household’s structures and even see it in the Southern Cross which fixes itself low along the horizon of the night sky throughout the Yucatan Peninsula (Villa Rojas: 1945). The contemporary Maya people living in Quintana Roo and Yucatan pass the knowledge of the sacred cross to ensure the continuation of their rituals and beliefs.
Tradition of the Talking Cross
In Quintana Roo, there's a very dynamic and hierarchical view of the sacredness of different crosses within a community. The crosses throughout a community can range from the patron cross which is believed to hold miraculous powers acting as a conduit to God to the smaller domestic crosses that are used in the home to protect and take care of the family members under its care. The Talking Crosses of Quintana Roo have been likened to saints or Santos and have been said to speak the word of God. Within the communities where Talking Crosses have been located, they've been found in association with shrine structures that only a few male elders are allowed to enter into. The elders of each lineage within a community are the eldest male within said lineage. This position within their family and community is passed down from father to son and is considered to be a great honor as acting figure head of your family’s lineage. There is thus far no account that shows a woman being the head of a family lineage in Quintana Roo. The older men within a lineage are the ones who usually carve the crosses for a family. The lineage crosses are normally made from cedar but have also been made out of ebony and caoba wood. These specific species of the wood are considered sacred or more powerful conduits of the religious power (Dumond: 1985). Crosses that carry extra special religious meaning are called miraculous crosses because they exhibit qualities of a Talking Cross and these crosses are never removed from their associated shrines. However, identical substitute crosses are carved and used in rituals that involve a procession of people through the streets of a community, at the church or in the domestic arena of the home. These substitute domestic crosses are called, fiadoras (Villa Rojas: 1945). The crosses that have been found to have the miraculous gift of speech speak only to the community elders and are there to act a conduit straight to God and as a representation of Jesus Christ. Community elders that are allowed into the sacred shrines that shroud the view of the Talking Crosses ask questions to the cross asking it for guidance as well as asking it to protect and aid the community in future endeavors. The Talking Crosses of Quintana Roo and Yucatan have been a source of religious sustenance for the contemporary lowland Maya. These miraculous crosses are also a way for the people to highlight not only their newly acquired Roman Catholicism but to also infuse these new beliefs with their ancestors’ rituals and religious practices from ancient Maya lowlands.
Further Information
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