Traditional toys and games such as the Kmbomba, the spinning top, the kite, the cup-and-ball, and others typical of Yucatán for many years are increasingly being replaced by technology.
Nowadays, tourists are the consumers of these toys, according to vendors from the Lucas de Gálvez market. People from Mérida rarely buy these toys, only during the Hanal Pixán or Day of the Dead season (in November) to place them on the traditional altars.
Elena Castro Sánchez, a vendor at the Ranita Feliz crafts store, explained that these toys are consumed by foreign tourists because they are not as well known in their countries.
We show them how to play the toys. That is pleasant for us because the toy goes to their countries, and they continue the Yucatan tradition there, Castro said.
On the other hand, she commented that she was fortunate to use them because he grew up with four boys. She had to learn to play everything, such as the spinning top, the cup-and-ball, the kimbomba, and the slingshot.
In contrast, the young salesman Jorge Escalante Sunza commented that he did not play with them, although his parents and grandparents did.
Elena Castro would like to see traditional games return to the lives of the people of Merida, both for children and adults. She considered that parents are a fundamental part of recovering tradition.
People can purchase these toys at the Lucas de Gálvez market at an inexpensive price. The kimbomba is 40 pesos; the spinning tops are 60 pesos; the cup-and-ball is 70; the magic boards are 30; and other toys like marbles are between 2 to 7 per piece.
Alfredo Gutiérrez Couoh, anthropologist at the Autonomous University of Yucatán, said it is sad that traditional toys are only simple souvenirs for tourists.
He also highlighted that these items, a crucial part of many childhoods in the region, “have a lot of history and are part of our roots. It is not fair to our ancestors that this remains like this.”
Tourism is important, but it is even more relevant to preserve our traditions, which are part of our identity as Yucatecans, he said. Gutiérrez Couoh stated that, in some cases, traditional Yucatecan toys and games are in danger of extinction due to modernity.
In Mérida, being closer to different cultures, having economic access to more resources, and therefore more sophisticated toys, other types of training, and technologies have grown in society. However, it has also made us forget other traditions.
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