MÉRIDA, Yucatán.- The arrival of spring is one of the most anticipated events by Yucatecans and tourists , since generally on those dates the descent of Kukulcán can be observed in the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá , and the route of Kin , in Dzibilchaltún , an appointment that, as in 2020, will not be able to attend due to the Covid-19 pandemic .
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported in recent days that the archaeological zones of Yucatan will remain closed from March 20 to 22, so the descent of the Kukulcán will be “behind closed doors” again, with no public to charge. of energy.
The pre-Hispanic Mayan cities in the state were closed in March 2020 and gradually reopened from September 22, although with a capacity of 30 percent, which impacted the number of visitors to the Mayan cities.
It should be remembered that in 2019 more than 14 thousand people welcomed spring in the place that houses one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”; 80 percent of the walkers were of foreign origin and left a spill close to five million 500 thousand pesos, said Marco Antonio Santos Ramírez, director of the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá.
The entry fee for foreigners was, in that year, 480 pesos, but on January 1, 2021 it increased 80 pesos, that is, if this year the same number of people had arrived as in 2019 for the spring equinox (about of 14 thousand visitors), would enter about six million pesos.
During 2020, the archaeological zone, considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, remained closed for 194 days: from March 20 to September 22. Also from October 5 to 10 and from October 26 to 29 due to the effects of the rains.
José Arturo Chab Cárdenas, head of the legal department of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Yucatán, indicated that the decision to close the phenomenon of light and shadow due to the arrival of spring 2021 was taken due to the epidemiological traffic light of Yucatán remains in orange color and, above all, it seeks to cut the chain of transmission of Covid-19.
“Because the traffic light remains orange, the Chichén Itzá archaeological monuments will continue to be closed on March 20, 21 and 22 of this year, as a preventive measure to stop the spread of the Sars-Cov-2 coronavirus”, Chab Cárdenas concluded.
