Do you remember the story of a tourist who has traveled to European countries? In the beginning, he was excited with every stone on the pavement, and in the end, he did not notice how he fell asleep in one of the most magnificent cathedrals in Europe. Tourists visiting Mexico for the second time feel the same. All the artifacts of ancient civilizations and ruins seem familiar. But this country can always surprise the most sophisticated travelers. Are you tired of excavations and archeological museums? Go to the city of Merida and visit the Museum of Modern Art “Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ateneo de Yucatán” or “MACAY”. Forget all you have known about Mexico and see it with new eyes. 

MACAY is the only museum of contemporary art on the Yucatan Peninsula. More than 70 thousand tourists visit it every year. It is located in the historic city center, next to the main shrine of Merida “Catedral de San Ildefonso de Yucatán”. Originally, this magnificent building was the propriety of the city archbishop. But it was confiscated during the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917. People opened a museum there. It has close connections with all art galleries of the peninsula. The mission of the museum is an awareness of national and international contemporary art.

The total area of the museum is 38 thousand square meters. So, people can exhibit works of very big sizes, corresponding to new trends in art. Two art galleries and four permanent exhibition halls show works of three great masters of Yucatan: Fernando Castro Pacheco, Fernando Garcia Ponce, and Gabriel Ramírez Aznar. You can see temporary exhibitions in 15 other halls, updating every three months.

Local residents regularly organize master classes on the second floor of the museum. Visitors do not just learn a lot about art, but also try to be artists themselves. People teach you how to weave hammocks, embroider shirts, and paint ceremonial masks.