Uayma Municipality

20°43′N 88°19′W / 20.717°N 88.317°W / 20.717; -88.317Country MexicoState YucatánMexico Ind.1821Yucatán Est.1824Municipality Est1918Government • Type 2012–2015^[1] • Municipal PresidentJuana Neyvi Chi Castro^[2]Area • Total196.72 km² (75.95 sq mi) ^[2]Elevation28 m (92 ft)Population • Total3,782 • Density19/km² (50/sq mi) • DemonymUmanenseTime zoneUTC-6 (Central Standard Time) • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)Postal CodeArea code988INEGI Code099Major AirportMerida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International AirportIATA CodeMIDICAO CodeMMMDMunicipalities of Yucatán

Uayma Municipality (In the Yucatec Maya Language: “water not here”) is a municipality in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing (196.72 km²) of land and located roughly 165 km east of the city of Mérida.^[2]

History

There is no accurate data on when the town was founded, though it existed before the conquest and in antiquity belonged to the chieftainship of Cupules.^[2] At colonization, Uayma became part of the encomienda system with the first recorded encomendero as Juan Bellido 1549-1579. From him it passed to Martín de Güemes 1579; Gaspar González, Pedro de Valencia, and Pedro de Valencia II 1607; Francisco Menéndez Morán 1683-1688; and thereafter to Joaquin Menéndez.^[4]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821 and in 1825, the area was assigned to the partition of Valladolid Municipality. During the Caste War of Yucatán the city was abandoned but repopulated after federal troops regained possession of it. In 1918, it was designated as its own municipality.^[2]

Governance

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has four councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of public works, education, nomenclature and public monuments.^[5]

Communities

The head of the municipality is Uayma, Yucatán. There are 16 populated areas of the municipality.^[5] The most notable, after the seat, include San Lorenzo, Santa María Aznar, and Xkatbe. The significant populations are shown below:^[2]

Community	Population
Entire Municipality (2010)	3,782[3]
San Lorenzo	47 in 2005[6]
Santa María Aznar	514 in 2005[7]
Uayma	2434 in 2005[8]

Local festivals

Every year on 3 May the festival of the Holy Cross is celebrated and on 15 May the feast of San Isidro Labrador, the town's patron saint is held. Also on 4 August a fiesta for Santo Domingo is recognized.^[2]

Tourist attractions

• The ex-convent and Church of Santo Domingo, built in the seventeenth century, destroyed during the Caste War, and rebuilt in the 19th century is one of the most famous structures of the municipality.

References