El Cedral - The Village of the Vow
A stop on Cozumel: San Miguel and the Island, a free self-guided tour.
This quiet inland village was where much of modern Cozumel began. In the late 1840s, during the Caste War on the mainland, families fleeing the fighting around the town of Saban crossed to the empty island and settled here, around the remains of an old Maya temple.
One of them, Casimiro Cardenas, survived an attack in that war and, the story goes, vowed to honor the Holy Cross every year. His fellow settlers kept the promise, and the Festival of El Cedral, ending on May 3, has been held almost every year since 1848. It is often called the oldest continuous celebration in Quintana Roo, with music, traditional dances and a country fair.
The Maya building itself is small and much reduced, but it is the reason the village is here. Look at it beside the little church: two faiths, centuries apart, on the same patch of ground. In winter the village is calm, and you can wander it in a few minutes.
Getting here: Leave Punta Sur and drive north on the west coast road. Near kilometer 17 to 18, turn right at the arch marking the road to El Cedral and follow it inland to the village.
Did you know?: The El Cedral festival has missed only one year since it began, in 2009, when it was cancelled over swine flu fears.
Photo op: Stand at the edge of the village square and frame the small Maya ruin with the church beside it.
More on Wikipedia: Caste War of Yucatan · Cozumel
Stops on this tour
- Plaza del Sol - Where the Island Says Hello
- Iglesia de San Miguel - The Archangel Who Hid
- Museo de la Isla - The Island in One Building
- San Gervasio - Pilgrims of the Moon Goddess
- Punta Morena - Where the Island Turns Wild
- Chen Rio - A Pool the Rocks Built
- El Mirador - An Arch in the Surf
- Punta Sur - Lighthouse at the End of the Island
- El Cedral - The Village of the Vow
- Chankanaab - The Little Sea and the Reef
- San Miguel Waterfront - Sunset Over the Channel