The following is an opinion piece by José Juan Cervera, originally published in Spanish by La Jornada Maya. It examines the photography book “Arraigo” documenting life in Mérida’s historic center.
MÉRIDA, Yucatán — From outside and within, the city displays different signs in the shapes and colors of its homes. On the exterior, the marginal face of anonymity moves between the uniform measure of public norms and the web of forces competing to raise their flags. Behind the threshold of doors and the firm texture of walls, consciousnesses pulse that assert their representations of the world and the sources that nourish their relationships with it.
A concise statement placed as the title of a volume eloquently concentrates the vastness of its content; its ellipsis exposes the meaning that encompasses the development of its descriptions or arguments. In friendly and warm heights unfolds “Arraigo,” a photography book by Bénédicte Desrus (Mérida, City of Mérida-Fábrica de Mosaicos La Peninsular-Universidad Marista de Mérida-Universidad Modelo-Yucatan Magazine, 2025). It consists of a selection of images achieved through journeys that led the author to interact with neighbors of Yucatán’s capital historic center, whom she interviewed over two years. Experiences and opinions of the residents of those properties are captured in brief passages that complement retrospective texts by Luis Millet Cámara and Ariel Avilés Marín, in a collection that stimulates dialogue and reflection.
The assembled material surpasses isolated nostalgia and constitutes a resistance that enjoys the recounting of shared days; it contains atmospheres close to the sense of plenitude, bordering on the pleasure of recognizing in their bearers the mission of custodians of values that provide identity and strength. “Those who leave are missing the opportunity of their life. They think they’re going to a better place, but they won’t find lots the same size or the quality in construction, or high ceilings. Here in the center we have everything at hand. These are things that sometimes one doesn’t see,” affirms Aída Gabriela, 66 years old.
Despite coinciding on basic aspects such as their esteem for the coexistence that once prevailed among the inhabitants of each recalled neighborhood, the liveliness that this proximity used to bring with it, and the attachment to family customs, and even in their knowledge of the background of the buildings that shelter them, as well as in the exuberance of the patios that were the scene of children’s games and abundant harvests, the interviewees enrich their impressions with nuances that populate their respective stories with particular, unrepeatable experiences. They also reveal their capacity to adapt to the challenges imposed by the vertigo of the present day, even though all are older adults, conscious of the limitations associated with their age.
The photos surround intimate places, sensibilities that emerge in decoration and symmetry, in traditional devotions and in figures that symbolize the transit of existence in its decisive phases. Facades and hallways, corridors and bedrooms preside over the courses of daily life among wooden rocking chairs with wicker seats, mirrors, tables, consoles, corner cabinets and the most diverse household items, in view of portraits that exalt belonging to a remote lineage, as proof of constant memory of their common origin.
Almost all these houses endure as inheritance from provident ancestors, zealous about transmitting to their descendants the sap of beloved practices whose honor and relative continuity seem to dictate the key to an emotional balance that links the passage of generations with a community seal, even though other original residents of the neighborhood have followed different destinies. Subjective components must be focused on with greater attention in the criteria that define quality of life, in addition to the palpable elements in the processes that make urban settlements a receiving point for multiple tensions, among them those that derive from changes in land use and the predominance of speculative interests in real estate sales, trends in irreversible course, increasingly notorious and disconcerting for those who have traveled a long path traced in the impulse of deep affections.
This work welcomes a visual and discursive record that contains a fresh look toward lifestyles, embedded in neighborhood enclaves, that weave their discreet beauty in radiances and rhythms. The frameworks of cultural reference and the legitimate aspirations of women and men portrayed in the heart of their home suggest margins of understanding of human variability and the complex patterns that govern social relations. Its perspective contributes to the principle of tolerance that today suffers the onslaught of agents of global reach that systematically undermine the rights of individuals and collectives, a threat directed at all species on the planet in a disturbing wave that calls for action with urgency and lucidity.
Arraigo” by Bénédicte Desrus, published in 2025 by the City of Mérida, Fábrica de Mosaicos La Peninsular, Universidad Marista de Mérida, Universidad Modelo, and Yucatan Magazine. Soft cover with gatefolds. Text in Spanish, 208 pages. Buy it here.