In Yucatán, we have a rich history of cultural creation and production that has greatly contributed to our sense of identity and belonging as part of this state. As we embrace increasingly diverse and innovative ways of creating art, Mérida, the capital, continues to grow as a cultural hub.
While we’ve shared the efforts of various institutions working to safeguard our heritage and highlighted many cultural initiatives in the city, we now want to introduce you to Pueblerinos. This initiative emerges from the heart of the state as a bold effort to decentralize contemporary art in the Yucatán Península.
Pueblerinos: A traveling gallery in Yucatán
Pueblerinos is a traveling gallery that explores questions about contemporary rural and community-based art in the state. This initiative is part of Aakil Lu’um Arte y Cultura AC, a space located in Sinanché and managed by Reyes Maldonado and Kiami Falcón. Through interdisciplinary creative processes, Aakil Lu’um Arte y Cultura develops projects that engage with the Maya territory, its knowledge, customs, and practices.
The Pueblerinos gallery moves through different locations, offering a fresh and transformative approach to viewing art horizontally—meaning in an egalitarian, non-hierarchical way. It frames art as a web of perspectives: interconnected, flexible, and constantly growing in every direction. These perspectives are rooted in creating and exploring all the ways we can creatively and sustainably share the spaces we call home.
The project began in 2020 in Sinanché, and has since traveled through Yaxkukul, Espita, Cansahcab, Sitpach, Tixkokob, Baca, San Crisanto, Seyé, and finally Mérida, in the Guadalupana neighborhood. Its stop in the capital was part of the NODOS program, presented by Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo or Contemporary Art Trust (PAC), under the name "Ichcaanzihó: The Face of Infinity."
In each municipality, the gallery showcases a different selection of works and invites local artists to present their pieces. In Mérida, Pueblerinos featured the work of women artists addressing themes such as territorial defense, environmental destruction, death, and memory.
The Pueblerinos space
The gallery itself is a small “house” made of wood, mesh, and plastic sheets, designed to resemble an apiary. This structure becomes a meeting point for discussing shared issues affecting the spaces we inhabit. Much like bees, it symbolically gathers the richness each municipality has to offer.
The concept of decentralizing knowledge stems from reflections on contemporary rural art in Yucatán, which is gaining recognition regionally, nationally, and internationally. It challenges traditional notions of what is labeled as indigenous or marginal art, questioning its forms and classifications.
Artists act as small antennas—both sensory receivers and social transmitters—who collectively capture and express, from diverse places and perspectives, the present, the current diversity, and the continuous change shaping a community.
Projects like Pueblerinos are essential for rethinking the Península from new perspectives. This exchange becomes a collaborative, participatory, and community-driven effort, highlighting resistance, heritage, and transformation. Together with diversity, these elements enrich and shape our identity.
Diversity converges in public spaces
Exploring the variety of voices emerging beyond cities is crucial for building a community that embraces plurality and interculturality. Pueblerinos temporarily occupies public spaces to remind people that society is constructed there.
Collaboration and cooperation play a key role in fostering social cohesion and addressing current challenges. Initiatives like those led by Reyes and Kiami encourage exchange and help us build stronger relationships with others—including those who may feel unfamiliar but are essential to coexistence. If contemporary rural art inspires us to weave new forms of care and understanding, we’re on the right track.
Follow Pueblerinos
If you’re passionate about the state’s art and culture, stay updated on Pueblerinos’ next stops and follow Aakil Lu’um Arte y Cultura. Together, they offer new perspectives on a shared territory—our one and only Yucatán.
FB: Aakil Lu um Arte y Cultura
FB: Pueblerinos
IG: @aakil.lu.um
IG: pueblerinos2023
Photography by Emmanuel Tatto / @tolok.imagen for use in Yucatán Today.
First published in Yucatán Today print and digital magazine no. 446, in February 2025.
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