Make yourself Up like Pixan at Xcaret and participate in the special collection:

“The funniest Faces of the Life and Death Traditions Festival 2011″

You have your tickets for the Life  and Death Traditions Festival. Now, what’s next?

One of the most important attractions when you get to Xcaret during the  Life and Death Traditions Festival is to make yourself up like Pixán (from the mayan, which means: “soul that gives life to the body“).

Let your creativity flow freely! Go to any of the booths set up in different areas of the Park where you can find brushes, mirrors and paint to become the most amusing skeleton around. Combine your colors, put them on your face, and prepare to enjoy the Life and Death Traditions Festival at Xcaret.

We invite you to join this initiative and upload your photo to our Facebook wall during the days of the event. Make a funny face, invite your friends and family to participate, use your creativity and get ready to enjoy the  Life and Death Festival.

All photos received during the event will be part of the Special Collection: “The funniest faces  of the Life and Death Traditions Festival”

3 easy steps to participate:

• Make yoursef up like Pixan at the  Life and Death Traditions Festival
• Make a funny face for the photo. Use your creativity!
• Share your picture on our Facebok wall writing the phrase “I am the soul of the party at Hanal Pixan“

Smile for the picture and don’t forget to dance with the souls who will join us the 1st and 2nd of November.

Enjoy and  make yourself alive in one of the most important traditions of Mexico: The Day of the Dead!

*Thanks for the photos Kelly McLaughlin. Follow her adventures at  “A Canuck in Cancun”

Xel-Há, Riviera Maya- The 5 Most Valuable Reasons To Preserve The Coral Reefs

  “Tropical and Riviera Maya coral reefs are very productive ecosystems. Not only are do they support enormous biodiversity, they are also of immense value to humankind”, says Martin Harvey, from WWF. If you need a number to believe it, there’s a big one from The Nature Conservancy-Global Marine Initiative: The annual global economic value of coral reefs has been estimated at $US375 billion. Here are the reasons:

1.        Coral reefs are the most valuable marine habitats for over 100 countries around the world, including the Riviera Maya at Mexico, where Xel-Há Park is located. They produce more living biomass than any other marine ecosystem. Although coral reefs cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, they are home to 25% of all marine fish species.

2.       That’s why coral reefs are vital to the world’s fisheries. An estimated one billion people have some dependence on coral reefs for food and income from fishing.

3.       Coral reefs form natural barriers that protect nearby shorelines from the eroding forces of the sea, just like the Xel-Há’s shorelines, as an example. They break the power of the waves during storms, hurricanes, typhoons, and even tsunamis. The reefs save billions of dollars each year in terms of reduced insurance and reconstruction costs.

4.       Tourism revenues generated by coral reefs are also significant. Sustainably managed coral reef-based tourism, just like Xel-Há does at the Riviera Maya, can also provide significant alternative or additional sources of income to poorer coastal communities in developing countries.

5.       Coral reefs biodiversity is the key to finding new treatment of diseases such as cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses, and even ulcers.

 However, coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, partly because they are very sensitive to water temperature. As responsible tourists, there are many things we can do to preserve the coral reef. To use a biodegradable sunscreen when visiting the beach is one of them, that’s why we ask you to change your sunscreen at Xel-Há or a biodegradable one.

Share With Us What Do You Do To Preserve The Coral Reefs When You Visit The Riviera Maya!

Day of the Dead, The Most Ancient Mexican Tradition At Xcaret

Cempasuchil flowers, copal scent, candle lights and intense colors for celebrating the Death. So this is Mexico and the 6TH Festival Of Life & Death Traditions In Xcaret, at the Riviera Maya: we celebrate to those who had gone before us with a lively party that stays forever in our memory.

  This is Mexico‘s oldest tradition, dating back to Pre-Hispanic times, about three thousand years ago. There are records of rituals dedicated to the dead among the Aztecs, Mayans, Purepecha and Totonacas since that date. The meaning of death was the way to get into another world that had nothing to do with the catholic concepts of hell or heaven.

This world was known as Mictlan. Eduardo Merlo, a Mexican archaeologist describes it: “According to the belief of the ancient Mexican civilization, when a person dies, his spirit continues living in Mictlan, place of residence of souls who have left the earthly life. Benevolent gods created this idyllic site that is far from darkness and it is rather gloomy calm and pleasant, where souls rest peacefully until the day appointed by the custom, when they return to their former homes to visit their relatives. Although we cannot see them during this visit, we can feel their presence. 

 In the Riviera Maya world, the Day of the Dead tradition is known as Hanal Pixan, which means “food of the soul” and has a little bit more influence of the Catholic faith brought by the Spanish conquerors. 

In Xcaret, located at the Riviera Maya, we’re ready to celebrate the Day of the Dead at the 6TH Festival Of Life & Death Traditions with all its colors, scents and flavors, with the joyous music of Tabasco drummers and the delicious chocolate.

 How Do You Celebrate The Day of the Dead?

Chocolate, A Delightful Protagonist Of The 6th Festival of Life and Dead Traditions At Xcaret, Cancun- Riviera Maya!!

Delighting yourself with a delicious cup of real chocolate at the Riviera Maya is one of the most attractive reasons to attend to the 6th Festival of Life and Dead Traditions at Xcaret, as Tabasco, the land of cocoa, is the guest state to this great celebration of the Day of the Dead. 

 The ancient Mexicans knew the nutritional value of cocoa and held it in such high esteem that it was also used as currency. In fact, the tlatoani Moctezuma, the Mexican emperor, required part of their taxes in cocoa beans.

 In Mexico, the cocoa plant growth throughout the warm zone of the country, from Tabasco, to Michoacan, Colima, Chiapas and Campeche. In fact, the Olmec from Tabasco were the first to include cocoa as a sacred beverage in their rituals, three thousand of years ago!

  The way of make chocolate was inherited to the Maya and Aztecs, so when the Spaniards arrived, “xocolatl” was sophisticated drink, not just ceremonial, but exclusive of the aristocracy. It was prepared with water, wild honey and vanilla.

The chocolate available in stores has a low percentage of cocoa and a very high sugar and other ingredients. The Haciendas cacaoteras (cacao plantations) of Tabasco preserve the tradition of growing cacao and, in this ocassion, in the 6th Festival of Life and Dead Traditions at Xcaret, They allow us to enjoy the taste of chocolate as the ancient Mexican made it.

  Are you coming to the 6th Festival of  Life and Dead Traditions at Xcaret? Then you can not miss the opportunity to discover how to make a cup of traditional chocolate and share with our friends of Tabasco the delicious flavor of its cuisine and its lively music. Remembering our dead ones is a cause for celebration, an excuse to share, so we’ll be glad to see you in the Riviera Maya, on this next Day of the Dead at Xcaret.

Share This Post and Tell Us What Would You Like To See On Our 6th Festival Of Life And Dead Traditions At Xcaret!!

Xel-Há, A Natural Landscape Gets The Tripadvisor’s Certificate of Excellence 2011!!

 Which characteristics would have a vacation to deserve a Certificate of Excellence? Maybe some ingredients could be an incomparable natural landscape, lots of fun for everyone (friends, family, couples, kids, grandparents…), unlimited food and beverages, a spot to take a refreshing dip and feel nature with all your senses.

    This is what many travelers found at Xel-Há, in the Riviera Maya, and they gave to the park four stars at Tripadvisor for 2011. This is great news for Xel-Há because the Tripadvisor’s veracity is made of the feedback from travelers around the world and with diverse opinions and needs.  This Certificate means that many people have found here what they were looking for their vacations, don’t you think so?

  This Certificate of Excellence granted by Tripadvisor to Xel-Há says: “We love to receive positive comments about your establishment, particularly if they come from those who are the most important: your clients (…). We think a punctuation of 4 stars is something to feel very proud of”. 

If you have visited Xel-Há, which activity or place at the park deserves a Certificate of Excellence? Which characteristics would you change at the park so you can give to it a Certificate of Excellence? Share your opinion!

#Come2Xplor: Follow us on Twitter and Win a double courtesy pass for Xplor.

If you are following our Twitter account you can participate in the monthly raffle for 2 double all-inclusive courtesy passes @XplorPark , the Adventure Park in the Riviera Maya. Sign up!

Spread the word. You’re just one click … #Come2Xplor

Follow these simple steps:

1) Follow our account @XplorPark

2)  Enter the following link to register for the ContestOne Kontest Contest

3) Click “follow to enter contest”

4) Authorize One Kontest application to your Twitter account

5) Congratulations. You have entered a monthly raffle for 2 double courtesy passes @XplorPark, valid for 1 year