HACIENDA CHICHEN
AND
YAXKIN SPA
Practice Sustainable
Tourism and dedicate
their social eco-cultural
efforts to the welfare of
the
Maya Communities
nearby Chichen Itza
Yucatan, Mexico
Read more
Hacienda Chichen was the first hacienda built in Yucatan and was founded in 1523. This hacienda never grew henequen or sugar cane, but was instead built to establish a center for Spanish rule over the Mayans and functioned as a cattle ranch.
As with many Colonial Spanish countryside buildings in the Yucatan, Hacienda Chichen was designed to empower the Spanish Conquest by providing a feudal power structure. The compound had a Catholic Church or Chapel with a monastery annex built to ensure the spiritual control of the natives, and their submission to Catholicism. The Main house or “Casco” belonged to the "Lord" of the hacienda. He was appointed by the Spanish Crown to oversee the monarch’s economical and political interest. The Casco was built near the main well or “Noria” to control the water supply of the area. Cattle-raising was the main business of the hacienda for centuries, and whoever controlled the water, controlled the business. Hacienda Chichen's structures were built with Maya stones from the nearby ruins. Many of these stones are exposed nowadays at the main building or Casco's west facade and the exterior walls of Morley's Cottage.
In the 19th Century, Hacienda Chichen did for a time become a sisal plantation. In the early 20th Century, it was bought by Mr. Edward Herbert Thompson, Vice-Consul of United States of America who was enthralled with Chichen Itza. Through Mr. Thompson, the Carnegie Institute established its Maya Archaeological Expedition head-quarters at Hacienda Chichen in 1923. Rustic cottages were built to house the archaeologists and their research teams. And work began on excavating and reconstructing Chichen Itza.
In the 1920s, Mr. Fernando Barbachano Peon, the Pioneer of Tourism in Mexico, began his activities by promoting visits to Chichen Itza to a few Ward Line cruise passengers stopping at Progreso. From then on, he devoted his life to the worldwide promotion of the Maya Culture with the help of his travel company’s custom tours to the Yucatan. During the 1930s, Mr. Barbachano Peon bought the Hacienda Chichen from the Thompson family and he and his wife, Carmen Gomez Rul de Barbachano, built lodges and hotels near the Maya archaeological sites of Chichen-Itza and Uxmal.
Pictured in the photos on the right side of this page are the Barbachano family members in the horse-drawn cart that brought visitors to Chichen Itza from Merida and standing in front of the Observatory at Chichen Itza. Below that is a photo of Mr. Fernando Barbachano Peon in the midst of restoration of the Casco, Mrs. Barbachano at a meal for the local workers, and both of them standing in front of one of the cottages undergoing renovation.
Throughout the 1940s, the couple restored the Hacienda Chichen and used it as a part time hotel. Mrs. Carmen Gomez Rul was responsible for training and selecting the staff to serve in these hotel ventures. Her loving patience united with her strong spirit and hard work helped her husband and his company gain a solid position in the international travel industry. By the 1950s, Mr. Barbachano Peon turned his attention to the Mexican Caribbean islands of Isla Murejes and Cozumel, where he built his last hotel before his death in 1964. His legacy, vision and drive helped the development of tourism as an industry in Mexico.
After his death, his daughter Carmen Barbachano Gomez Rul became the first business woman in Yucatan to own six major hotels, rental car agencies and other major tourism services. During her active years as a business woman, Ms. Carmen Barbachano G.R. expanded her activities into banking ventures as well. In 1970, she inaugurated the elegant hotel Casa del Balam, named in honor of her father. After a very successful and fulfilling business life, Ms. Carmen Barbachano has left her family’s next generation the responsibility to continue with the family tradition of providing excellent service and quality to those that stay at her hotels.
Nowadays, Mrs. Belisa Barbachano and her husband Mr. Bruce Gordon
operate Hacienda Chichen and Yaxkin Spa, committing all their
efforts to
Sustainable Tourism and supporting the social volunteer work of
The Maya
Foundation In Laakeech A.C.
In the 1920s, Mr. Fernando Barbachano Peon, the Pioneer of Tourism in Mexico, began his activities by promoting visits to Chichen Itza to a few Ward Line cruise passengers stopping at Progreso. From then on, he devoted his life to the worldwide promotion of the Maya Culture with the help of his travel company’s custom tours to the Yucatan. During the 1930s, Mr. Barbachano Peon bought the Hacienda Chichen from the Thompson family and he and his wife, Carmen Gomez Rul de Barbachano, built lodges and hotels near the 