Sacalum

Sacalum is a tiny little town of some 4,000 residents in Yucatán. Today, it gets visited mostly by touring bicyclists on their way to the old Hacienda San Antonio Sodzil, about ten minutes to the north (by car - on a bike the same trip takes about 25 minutes). But Sacalum is one of the towns most famous for having resisted Spanish colonization and later Franciscan evangelizing. You won't find a lot of monuments to colonial era figures even today.

The town is laid out around the Franciscan church, dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. Almost entirely without windows, it was likely begun in about 1621, shortly after the founding of the town. The church and the nearby former monastery date from the end of the 17th century to the early 18th century. The altarpiece was somehow saved from the ravages of history and is characteristic of those produced in the 18th century. The church was abandoned by the Franciscans in 1821 and thereafter was almost entirely left to the elements. It later served as a barracks for troops under General Salvador Alvarado who was the revolutionary governor of Yucatán from 1915 through 1918.

Most of the population left the town during the Caste Wars at the end of the 19th century. But the little town has soldiered on and remains an affordable and charming place to visit. Cooking and food is widely available and as authentic as anything you will find on the peninsula.

People generally get to Sacalum from the capital at Merida. It's about three hours directly to the south. The nearest station of the Tren Maya is in Maxcanú, about one hour to the west. Transit from there is likely to stop in Muna, still about 25 minutes from Sacalum, however the route is well served by combis and taxis.