Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(see 9)
D2
(see 9)
(see 9)
E4
(see 6)
Sleeping
C4
F4
C3
Shopping
E4
D2
Sights
Parque Centro América
Most of Xela's sights crowd in and around the broad central plaza, known as the Parque
Centro América. The original version, designed by Italian architect Alberto Porta in the
1800s, comprised two separate parks; these were combined in a 1930s update into its cur-
rent oblong shape. Most notable of the monuments scattered along its expanse is a rotunda
of Ionic columns dedicated to the composer Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, locally known as '
The
Kiosk
'. In the center of the plaza is a
pillar
dedicated to Justo Rufino Barrios, the 19th-cen-
tury president whose 'reforms' transferred land ownership from Maya peasants to coffee-
plantation owners. At the southern end, the Casa de Cultura houses the
Museo de Historia Nat-
9am-5pm Sat & Sun)
. The museum holds a hodgepodge of Maya artifacts, vintage photos,
dried leaves, old coins, marimbas, sports trophies, stuffed mammals and birds, all dis-
played in cases reminiscent of elementary school outings.
PLAZA
