Valladolid Adventures Part 9: The Walkway of the Friars

The Calzada de los Frailes begins at Los Cinco Calles. A "V" is formed by the intersection between Highway 180 and the Calzada de los Frailes (Walkway of the Friars). This intersection is known locally as Los Cinco Calles (The Five Streets). The Calzada proceeds off to the left, in the direction where the Volkswagen is pointed. A four block walk takes you to the massive Convento de San Bernardino de Siena. That was the headquarters for Franciscan evangelization in eastern Yucatan from 1552 to 1755. The Calzada was created for the use of the Convento's friars when they visited Valladolid.

The house above once belonged to Don Marcial Vidal, a merchant and owner of the nearby Hacienda San Gregorio. He was a hero of the "First Spark", the name given to an uprising in Valladolid on June 4, 1910. That spark was snuffed out after four days of bloody fighting. It actually pre-dated the formal beginning of the Mexican Revolution, which erupted on November 20, 1910. It is not clear what happened to Vidal after the defeat. If he was not one of those killed in the fighting, he either escaped with his life and little else, or he was captured. If captured, he almost certainly would have faced an immediate firing squad. 

The route from Parque Principal to Convento de San Bernardino de Siena. At the southwest corner of the Parque Principal (upper right) you can see a small cross. This marks the location of Templo San Servacio. From there, proceed west along Highway 180 for two blocks to Los Cinco Calles. The left fork is Calzada de los Frailes, which takes you directly to the Convento (see red pointer).

In this posting, I will show you the Calzada and relate some of its history through the eyes of people who walked it over the centuries. Some were Franciscans and some were visitors passing through the area. All of them wrote down their impressions and these illustrate some of the changes to the Calzada de los Frailes over a period of 400 years.

Plaque on wall of Don Maciel Vidal's house. This was placed on the wall more than 100 years before Sr. Vidal's heroic role in the First Spark and long before his family owned the house. Its purpose was to commemorate the reconstruction of the Calzada in 1801. The plaque contains the names of several high public and Church officials. The last person at the bottom is a Captain of Artillery named D. Ygnacio Ribaz, who supervised the construction of the road. 

It seemed odd to me, at first, for an Artillery captain to be in charge. However, it occurred to me that such officers needed to be good mathematicians to set ranges for their weapons and to have the engineering skills to build gun emplacements. Building a road would have been a fairly simple exercise for Capitán Ribaz. The laborers who did the actual work would have included native Maya from Sisal and possibly some Ladinos (mixed Maya and Spanish) from Valladolid. It is unlikely that any self-respecting Spaniard would wield a shovel.

The Calzado is lined with mansions built in the colonial-era and the 19th century. Some are now boutique stores and fashionable restaurants. The yellow building on the right is one of those former mansions and now houses Restaurant Calzada, which specializes in ice cream and pasteries. Directly across the street is a mansion which is still a private home. It has a plaque stating that this is "La Casa de Mamá Chelly" (Mama Chelly's house).

While this has became a fashionable neighborhood in the 21st century, the original 16th century pathway was a dirt track and there were no houses lining it. The land on either side would have been dotted with Maya farms. The Convento, at the far end of the Calzada, was situated in the Maya village of Ziiz-há, a name that refers to the cold water of the nearby cenote. The Spanish version of the village's name became "Sisal". The village was outside, but not far from, the ancient city of Zaci, which was renamed Valladolid in 1545 by the conquistador Francisco Montejo el Sobrino. 

Another former mansion.  This one appears to have been broken up into a couple of apartments, with a fashionable women's clothing store in between. Most of the old mansions in Valladolid are single story buildings with flat roofs. It is hard to say how large any of these houses are, since they may continue back from the street for a considerable distance and might even contain an open courtyard. 

In 1549, ownership of the village of Sisal was awarded to a Spaniard named Baltazar Callejo de Montenegro, for his service as a conquistador. Thirty years later it was still owned by one of his descendants, Baltazar de Montenegro. In 1606, Baltazar de Gallegos was listed as the owner. It is not clear if he was part of the same family or just shared a popular first name. By the end of the 18th century, the town had become the property of the Spanish Crown. In spite of all these Spanish owners, as late as 1805 only Mayas lived in Sisal. Up to then, it was still a separate, indigenous village village outside Valladolid's city walls.

This old mansion stands about a block from the Convento. The cross over the door on the right might indicate a connection with the Convento complex, or it might just be a statement of religious reverence by a current or previous owner. During our walk along the Calzado, I noticed several other buildings with elaborately painted crosses over their doors. Sometime before this shot was taken, the mansion above was divided into several apartments. 

In 1588, a Franciscan historian named Antonio de Ciudad Real (1551-1617) wrote about the area. His description shows that the Calzada hadn't changed much during the previous 36 years. He wrote that "from the convent to the town there leads a road, closed on both sides with ceiba trees, which are tall and thick and resemble the black poplar of Spain." 

A food vendor on a tricycle cart shelters in the shade of a ceiba near the Convento. In the mid-17th century a Franciscan named Diego Lopez de Cogolludo (1613-1665) visited. His description shows that the Calzada had been graded and paved. "To go to the convent from town, one has to take a road of eight varas wide (note: approx. 22 ft), made of stone and lime, with a parapet and bordered on both sides with trees called ceibas which are very tall and thick and provide shade. In spite of being far, the convent is visited often by the inhabitants (of Valladolid) who are followers of our saintly religion." 

By 1841, there had been major changes to the Calzada de los Frailes. That year, American explorer John Lloyd. Stephens described "a long street with great mansions along both sides, leading directly to the house of Don Pedro Baranda, one of the largest and best in the city." Baranda was a 19th century business man in Valladolid who set up the first steam-powered factory in Mexico. His house is the same one later owned by Don Marcial Vidal, hero of the First Spark. Since Stephens makes no mention of the tall ceibas, they must have been cut down by the time he and his English partner Frederick Catherwood passed through.

 

Convento de San Bernardino de Siena, viewed from its north end. At this point, you have reached the end of the Calzado de los Frailes. The street curves to the right and becomes  Calle 49. From this direction, the Convento didn't look as large as it had been described. At first, I was not certain if we had found it. That turned out to be an optical illusion, as you will see in the next posting. Historical markers are off to the left, just out of sight. It is always useful to consult signs like those because they often contain hard-to-find details and are often in both Spanish and English, as these were.

Today, the Calzada appears much the same as when Stephens described it. It is still lined with single-story colonial-era mansions, although many are now restaurants or boutique stores. There are no ceiba trees until you reach the Convento grounds. Modern day visitors can join a guided walk along the Calzada de los Frailes to see a light show at the Convento. It is held on Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM.

This completes Part 9 of my Valladolid Adventures series. Parts 10, 11, and 12 will focus on various aspects of the great Franciscan Convento. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I can respond in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim