Bygone places in México / La Ciudad Maya, a 70s nightclub in Mérida, now in ruins.
Built in the image and likeness of the most representative buildings of Mayan culture, this nightclub offered shows with vedettes, comedians, and dancers.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
La Ciudad Maya was a nightclub, restaurant, and entertainment center built to imitate some of the essential buildings of Mayan culture, such as "El Castillo" and "El Observatorio," both located in Chichen Itza. Surprisingly, some people believed they were authentic Mayan ruins (and no: it was a club!). La Ciudad Maya was built by Mr. Rubén González, known as "Bono," during the 1970s and even featured a cenote.
Olga Breeskin in Telenovelas
"For its inauguration, Olga Breeskin was brought in (...) who presented a show (...) with feather costumes and minimal clothing." I'll take a moment to stray a bit from the topic and tell you about Olga Breeskin. She worked in a telenovela written by me called "Tú y yo" (1996-1997), starring Joan Sebastian and Maribel Guardia. We found it curious that the character (obviously a villain) manipulated her "critters" in her scenes just as she did in her shows. Tarantulas walked on her hands, and vipers coiled around her voluptuous body. In a market study (the so-called "focus groups"), the ladies complained about the venomous animals, and we had to remove them!"
Let's go back to La Ciudad Maya, which, they say, also featured Niurka Marcos (the controversial ex of my former boss, Juan Osorio) as part of the show: there were Cuban orchestras, comedians, and dancers. "At its peak, it was considered the best restaurant and entertainment center in Mérida..."
The Decline
In the 90s, it collapsed perhaps as mysteriously as the Mayan civilization (the so-called "Mayan collapse" occurred between the 8th and 9th centuries AD). Today, only ruins remain (more dilapidated than the originals), devoured by the jungle. The preferred inhabitants of the area now are the toloks (which are like iguanas).
- Address: Calle 82, between 61 and 65, behind the Centenario Zoological Park, Mérida, Yucatán.
- Status: Permanently closed.
