The MEL News – January Edition

We welcome the new year with many exciting events and activities at MEL.

This year, we proudly celebrate 30 years of MEL—thirty years of stories, friendships, learning, and shared purpose. We can’t wait to celebrate this milestone with all of you who make it possible. Please keep reading for details below.

We also honor our literary roots with several author readings and a movie screening, along with the return of the popular Poetry Writing Workshop. Yoga for Snowbirds and the Chess Club also resume this month.

Remember, you can always call the library at 999-924-8401 or email us at info@meridaenglishlibrary.com for more information. Be sure to visit our website, Facebook page, or Instagram profile to stay updated on weekly, monthly, and upcoming events. And never forget — libraries change lives by offering communities a place to learn, create, and belong.

We would also like to take a moment to thank you all for your support. We are grateful to share that blood donors have been found for the sister of our colleague, Evonne Von Boeck.

Finally, please note that due to the GALA celebration, there will be no Bingo Night on the last Saturday of January. Instead, we invite you to join us on February 1 to celebrate MEL at the Fiesta Americana.

We would like to inform you that Monday, February 2, will be the first official holiday of the year, in observance of Mexico’s Constitution Day. Although the national celebration takes place on February 5, it is officially commemorated on Monday.

We kindly ask our members to plan ahead and return their items in advance to avoid late fees.

MEL 30th Anniversary Gala

An Evening of Celebration, Purpose, and Community

For 30 years, MEL has been a place where language, culture, and community come together. Today, MEL stands stronger than ever—supported by a committed, generous, and united community.

We are honored to invite you to the MEL 30th Anniversary Gala, a formal fundraising evening designed with exquisite taste, meaningful purpose, and a shared desire to celebrate what we have built together.

The evening will take place at Hotel Fiesta Americana, a five-star venue in the heart of Mérida, and will feature a three-course formal dinner prepared by the hotel’s chefs, along with a live musical performance by the extraordinary Gina Osorno.

This Gala is more than a celebration. It is an opportunity to come together, reconnect, and actively support the expansion of the MEL Library, ensuring that this vital community space continues to grow and thrive for future generations.

Tickets are now available at the library and online in the MEL Shop.

Your presence and support will make this celebration — and MEL’s future — possible. Join us for an evening of unity, gratitude, and shared purpose.

Join us for January’s House & Garden Tours!

We invite you to explore the charm and beauty of Mérida with our House & Garden Tours, happening every Wednesday morning.  The first tour of the new year will be a special Neighborhood Tour, as we’ll gather at 9:30 AM in Santiago Park (Calle 59 x Calle 72) on January 7 for a tour of nearby homes.  Then, Wednesday January 21 includes two tours - a neighborhood tour of the Mejorada neighborhood in the morning (meeting at 9:30 AM in Mejorada Park Calle 50 x Calle 59), and later we will host the new year's first Evening Tour. Experience the magic of Mérida’s homes under the glow of night lights! We’ll meet again at Meojarda Park at 5:30 PM to begin this unforgettable journey.

We will meet at MEL on January 14 and January 28.  Doors open at 9:00 and the program begins at 9:30.

Please visit our website for more information, and plan to join us!

Tours in January and February often sell out so reserve your spots in advance! Tickets are on sale now at MEL or online in the MEL Shop.  Tickets cost $400 for MEL members and $500 for non-members.

MEL members who intend to attend several tours have the option to purchase a discounted six-session pass for $2000.  These passes can be shared with one other person, and are transferable but not refundable.  Buy them online in the MEL Shop.

Come stroll around Santa Ana, the Soho of Mérida, with us!  Tours run every other Thursday through March including January 8 and January 22.  We meet at the fountain in the Santa Ana Park (Calle 60 x 45) at 10 AM for a short talk, then visit several galleries and workshops in the barrio.

Registration is limited to 12 participants per tour, and costs $200 for MEL members and $300 for non-members.  Buy your tickets at MEL or online in the MEL Shop.  

Step into one of Centro Historico’s most beloved private homes for an unforgettable evening in support of the Mérida English Library.  This fan-favorite, beautifully restored traditional colonial residence , richly filled with art and character, is located in the heart of the ‘Gastronomic Corridor’ offering the perfect setting for a sophisticated night of community, culture and celebration.  

On Thursday January 22, from 7:00 - 9:00 pm, guests will enjoy special wines and complimentary tapas while being serenaded throughout the evening by a very special Yucatecan Trio, providing live music for relaxed listening pleasure.  Surrounded by timeless architecture, curated artwork, and warm colonial elegance, this enchanting home sets the stage to ring in 2026 in style.

Please join us for this memorable Wine Tasting fundraiser and help support the vital work of MEL — an evening where music, wine, art and generosity come together beautifully!

Tickets for MEL Members go on sale online in the MEL Shop on Thursday January 8 beginning at 9:00 AM.  During this presale-period, library members may purchase two tickets at MX$700 each per Family or Individual membership number.  Please visit our website for information about our ticket sales policies.

Tickets go on sale without restriction both online and in person at MEL at 9:00 AM on Monday January 12.  Tickets for non-members are MX$800 each.  Please note that tickets are NOT AVAILABLE at the door of the event, so make sure to buy yours in advance.

There are still Season Tickets available for the remaining three wine events! We encourage supporters of MEL and those who want to enjoy a fun evening with art, music, good wine and tasty tapas to buy a Season Ticket for $2,100. This will guarantee your spot at the remaining three events, including the exciting January 15th event. These Season Tickets are only available to MEL members, so join today if you are not already a member!

Ready to write? The popular Poetry Writing Workshop with Olya is back! This fun and informal workshop of imaginative prompts and collaborative discovery will help spark your creative genius. Just bring your pen, paper, and love of words! All collections will receive feedback from the instructor at the end of the workshop. This six-week course is free and open to all levels and will be held on Thursdays beginning January 8 at 9:30 AM, ending at 11:30 AM. Click here to read more.

Julie Marie Hoey will offer acrylic painting classes at MEL starting Monday January 12, 2026.  She offers a six-week session, with classes for adults beginning at 9:30 AM, followed by classes for children at 11:15 AM.  Each class is 90 minutes. Participants may register for all six weeks, or may elect to register for four classes based on their skill level.  While classes are appropriate for all levels of ability and experience, beginning and intermediate students may choose the first four weeks, and more advanced students may decide to wait until the third session and attend only the last four weeks. This would make a great gift for a budding artist in your family!

Julie Marie will supply canvas paper for practice exercises, but students will bring their own supplies and brushes, and you can find a list — along with other information — on the MEL Blog.  

Discover the powerful story of reconciliation and healing in Burying The Hatchet: The Tom Quick Story. This compelling documentary explores how the Lenni Lenape tribes — once dislocated from their Milford, PA homeland in the late 18th century — joined with local community members to confront a painful past and build a shared future rooted in trust, friendship, and understanding. Produced by Sean Strub (a Mérida seasonal resident and former mayor of Milford), this hour-long film will be screened starting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday January 13. Click here for more information.

Book Presentation - Deborah Jennings

Please join us for a very special presentation from author Deborah Jennings on Tuesday January 20 at 11:00 AM.  Deborah will discuss the material behind her book Ghost Child, much of which focuses on Mérida.. 

A young woman from a blue-collar background — aspiring and driven — spent over twenty years quietly wondering if the family who raised her was truly hers. At thirty-two, she confirmed the unthinkable: she is the biological daughter of another, entirely unknown family.

Her search unfolds like a page-turning mystery, leading to an astonishing discovery—her biological grandfather was a U.S. diplomat and author, photographed in the Oval Office with President Kennedy, greeting Charles Lindbergh on the tarmac, and meeting with Rosa Parks and international leaders. Her grandmother was a Cambridge-educated Mexican, who described to her an exotic heritage of haciendas and aristocracy in Mérida. Her birth mother, Katie, a Bohemian expatriate in Cuernavaca, Mexico, gave birth to her in secret and lived childless ever since.

Book Presentation - Letitia Walker

Letitia Walker has released her book Silent Sufferers, a powerful and faith-filled book that utilizes her 4 R’s: Reveal, Release, Renew, and Rejoice as a practical roadmap to healing. The book along with the companion workbook were written for every woman seeking freedom from silent pain, this book/workbook offers the tools, hope, and encouragement to step boldly into a life of wholeness and purpose.

Join Letitia in the MEL classroom at 10:00 AM on Saturday January 31 for reading, discussion, book signing and light refreshments.

♟️ CHESS CLUB FOR TEENS

January 9 – February 27
Fridays | 11:50 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
@ MEL’s A/C Classroom

Calling all teens who love a challenge  or who want to learn something new!

Our new Chess Club for Teens is starting soon! This is a space to sharpen strategy skills, strengthen concentration, build confidence, and connect with others, all through friendly, fun, and thoughtful gameplay.

Cost:
• $30 MXN per session
• $200 MXN for all eight classes

This club is made possible thanks to a generous donation of professional chess sets from our friend Jae Om, and the support of our wonderful volunteers and former instructors, Tammy and Ron Morris. All funds raised will go toward purchasing professional chess clocks, so we can host official MEL tournaments soon  and maybe even form our first MEL Teen Chess Team!

Whether you’re a beginner or already a strategic mastermind, you are welcome.

👉 Registration: https://meridaenglishlibrary.com/register

Our popular lecture series continues with a variety of interesting and informative talks on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM, continuing through February.

January 7: Vanishing Legacy: Roads, Rails & Ruins of Yucatán — What do Maya ceremonial highways, colonial-era railways, and abandoned haciendas all have in common? They’re more than just ruins — they’re the fading footprints of power, belief, and transformation across centuries of Yucatán history.  Join us for a visually rich and thought-provoking MEL Talk with Tony Sherrin, long-time Mérida resident, classical scholar, and passionate explorer of Maya and colonial heritage. In this engaging presentation, Tony will guide us through three powerful legacies of movement and meaning in Yucatán:

• The sacbe’ob, or ancient Maya roads, where gods once walked and rituals took place under the stars

• The railways that carried the weight of the henequén economy — and the rise and fall of the Porfirian elite

• The haciendas, once symbols of wealth and control, now standing in ghostly silence or blooming with new life

With over 100 images and stories drawn from years of research and exploration, this talk will take you beyond the tourist maps and into the layers of history hidden beneath the streets, stones, and structures we pass every day.

January 14: A Seasonal Home Maintenance Guide — Architect Fernando Abreu holds a Bachelor in Architecture and a Master of Construction Management. Leading the design-build firm CENTRO Architects, he has more than ten years of experience remodeling and renovating homes in Mérida’s Centro. With a concentration on residential work, renovations in the downtown area now make up the majority of the studio´s projects.

January 21: The Growth of Mérida: From the Viceroyalty to the Early 20th Century — What if Mérida could speak for herself?

Join us for a unique and engaging talk where the city of Mérida takes center stage — literally. Anthropologist and certified tour guide Cecilia de Teresa López Vázquez, a native of the city, will perform a creative and historically grounded reading of a fictional “letter” written by Mérida, chronicling her own expansion from colonial outpost to thriving modern hub. Spanning over 300 years of change — from the Viceroyalty to the green gold of the henequén era — this presentation brings to life the rich and complex forces that shaped Mérida. With a background in field research, community anthropology, and cultural storytelling, Cecilia brings both depth and charm to her work.

Whether you're new to Mérida or have walked its streets for decades, this is a chance to discover the city from a fresh, intimate perspective.

January 28: Forty Years on The Rock — Artist and frequent visitor Bruce Hanners discusses the history and evolution of the MEL patio mural, plus other activities he has undertaken during his long history in Mérida.  With photos covering the entire timeline of the mural, Bruce will describe the history and development of this iconic MEL centerpiece.

Bruce is a life-long artist with a career in many forms, working as, for example, a journeyman scenic artist in theater, film and television including three years on the groundbreaking TV show Miami Vice.  He is also a sculptor, and has bronze castings located in public and private spaces throughout the United States. Bruce worked for 15 years restoring pieces at the MACAY museum here in the Yucatán. We’re honored that he counts the MEL Mural among his signature pieces.

2026 calendar here https://meridaenglishlibrary.com/events/recurring/mel-talks

Yoga4Snowbirds

Instructor Alma Duran returns in January with her popular Yoga4Snowbirds, specially designed sessions that will help you unlock the key to feeling joyful, healthy and energetic — without risky or pretzel-like postures. Each class is different and offers a full-body, safe, mindful, breath-oriented sequence that includes powerfully grounding and strengthening, meditation in motion, breathwork and other complementary somatic explorations. Classes will begin on January 9 at 9:30 AM  Visit our website for more information.

Tai Chi at MEL

Join Mónica González to explore the eight movements of Taichi, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 – 10:30 AM.  Classes are $100 per session and there are discounts for purchases of seven sessions or more.  Note: Mónica will be out of town the second half of February, and you can purchase all twelve sessions over the next two months for just $900.  Visit the MEL Shop to reserve your spots.

Pilates

Richard Poe is a classically trained, fourth generation Pilates teacher. All student levels will feel comfortable in attending.  Students should only bring a mat; a Pilates–specific mat is preferred but not required.

Join Richie at MEL on Fridays 10:45 am – 11:40 am in our air-conditioned classroom.  Register online in the MEL Shop for a single session for $200 or take advantage of a special $700 monthly fee.

Our Fiction & Friends book club meets on January 29 starting at 10:00 AM.  The selection for this month is This Is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor.  You can read a synopsis here, and please visit our website for more information or to join.

The Climate Solutions Group will meet on SaturdayJanuary 17 at 11:30 AM in our classroom. In this group, we learn, grow, and build a community of people concerned about preparing for climate change. These meetings are open to the public – we look forward to seeing you there!

In January, after a short holiday break, we are bringing back STORYTIME at the library.

On Saturday, January 10, we will read Maisy Goes to the Library to celebrate libraries, and on Saturday, January 24, we will share some of the best Mayan legends in honor of Mérida Fest and to celebrate Mayan culture.

We look forward to seeing you at 10:00 a.m. This is a free activity and open to the public.

We meet at MEL on Monday evenings to practice English and Spanish during Conversaciones con Amigos. This is a language exchange program.

We open the doors at 6:45 pm. We start the practice at 7 with a suggested topic, though you can talk about anything you wish as long as you avoid controversial topics. We finish at 9:00 pm. This program is designed for adults only and is free for MEL members, $20 for non-members.

The Mérida Writers Group meets in our classroom every-other-week, including January 14 and January 28.  This is an opportunity for writers of all levels and genres to share their work.  Join them starting at 11:00 AM.

There’s a place for you to be part of the students who are already learning this fascinating language! You can still join the groups on Wednesdays and Fridays: Level 1 Beginners at 4 pm, Level 2 Basic Intermediate at 5:00 pm, and Level 3 Intermedio at 6:00 pm. 

We meet in the air-conditioned classroom of the Mérida English Library. Register now online or in person and live the experience with teacher Alfonso, language instructor. Learn more about our classes here.

Classes resume Wednesday January 7.

Since 2012, hats and toys made by a group of crafters have been distributed weekly to children in the cancer unit of O’Horán Hospital. Besides a gorro (brimless hat), each child gets a toy and activity book, crayons or colored pencils.

 If you can knit, crochet, or sew, please join us in the classroom at MEL on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 9:30 - 12:30, from October through March. We have patterns and some materials to share, but please bring your own equipment and supplies if you have them. 

Questions?  Please send an email to Marie Barchus, Marianne Kehoe, or Irma O'Meara.

AA holds their regular weekly sessions in English at MEL every Thursday starting at 7:00 PM.  Visit our website for more information. 

We would like to share that on Saturday, January 10 at 1:00 p.m., we will hold a Celebration of Life in honor of Brian Allen, a beloved MEL volunteer who passed away on December 8.

We will be joined by his wife and children, who will bring his ashes. A light refreshment will be shared as we come together to remember and celebrate the life of this kind man and devoted lover of books.

To help us with logistics, we kindly ask that you please RSVP at info@meridaenglishlibrary.com

Help Wanted! 

The Library Collections Committee (LCC) is always in need of volunteers to bring books to MEL from the US. If you or someone you know is planning an upcoming trip to Mérida and have room in your luggage for one or several books, please send an email to Marianne Kehoe kehoedds@gmail.com. We appreciate your support in this valuable service.  

COMMUNITY NOTICE!

The most anticipated art tour will be back very soon — more than 60 artists in 41 studios  — and you won’t want to miss it. Ticket sales for the Artist Studio Tour begin on February 3. Visit our website for more information.

 Chili Cookoff Registration Is Now Open! 🌶️

March 7, 2026 | 4–8 PM
Casa de Amistad • Calle 18 #109, Colonia Itzimná, Mérida, Yucatán

Who Can Enter?

Everyone!
Amateurs, seasoned chefs, pro chili masters, or first-time chili makers—this event is for you.
Start thinking of a snappy name for your chili!

What You’ll Make

Prepare 15 liters (about 4 gallons) of your best chili — meat, vegetarian, vegan, tofu,  whatever your recipe calls for. Bring it in a pot with a ladle for serving.  

*We don’t want you to run out of Chili!

How to Register

Send your name, phone number, and email address to:
📧 chilicookoffmid.cooks@gmail.com

What We Provide

• We’ve got you covered with:
• A stand for your chili pot
•  Sterno to keep it warm
•  Sample cups
• Signage with your chili’s name
•  Tents and chairs for your serving area

Each contestant receives two complimentary event tickets.

The Competition

Guests will vote for People’s Choice awards:

• Amateurs: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place – with prizes for the winners!
• Professionals:  1st, 2nd, and 3rd place—with prizes for the winners!

More information will be shared as we get closer to Cookoff Day.

Alvah Hanrahan - William Gilbert - Shawn Powell - Rhonda Doran - Charlotte & Jaggy - Nancy Grew - Mitchel Krenz - Liz Walser - Gabriella Peregrin - Tim & Marsha Weaver - Emiliano José  Tec - Kathi Bienz - Dianne Weber - Sherelle Sands - Leslie Metri - Tom Barton - Jeff Blackstock - Evelyn Jackson - Bernicia Traconis - Fran Fearnley - Allison Defresse - Celio Fuentes - Alita Osberg - Lewie Conner - Melanie Towe - Charlie & Henrietta Musselwhite - George McClellan

Download it now! https://yuc.today/mel