Beards and Body Types

Yesterday, I mentioned that my husband John had heard that Maya men without any Spanish genetics in them do not have beards.

Today, I was thinking how I was surprised that Hunbatz Men, because he is a man of influencial stature, was actually only as tall as I am – 5 foot, 3 inches.

I don’t know why I would have expected him to be any taller since most Maya people are quite short. Many are also rather stocky and solidly built.

For me, it’s unusual to be among so many people that are about my height or shorter.

In fact, during our second last day in Merida, this woman came up to us in the restaurant where we were having our lunch and, out of the blue, began telling us about wonderful folklorio dances and where they are held.

I thought that an amazing coincidence since the folklorio dancing is one of the items I wished to have in my Yucatan travel movie but had not yet had the opportunity to get footage of it.

This woman was tiny. Really tiny. Short. Little. Perfectly proportioned. Probably in her 50s. Dark hair. Black eyes. Square faced. At least five inches shorter than me. That’s short.

She was also rather articulate in English, which is very unusual among the people I’ve come across in Yucatan.

We couldn’t figure her out because she also suggested that, if we wanted to buy crafts, we should go to a native artesania cooperative rather than buying the imported goods sold on the street my peddlers.

I thought she gave us this information because she wanted a few pesos. Sometimes people want pesos for helping us park or other little services. However, she gave me back my coin and said she just wanted to tell us about her people.

I’m still wondering about her. Was she crazy or just simply helpful?

Carol Chapman

Copyright (c) 2009 Carol Chapman