The first Amphitheater show at La Plancha Park, Merida
For those who have yet to visit La Plancha Park in Merida, you’re missing out! There is so much to do. This blog is about a great show at La Plancha Park, Merida.
To be fair, now it’s March, so during the day the temperatures can be too hot to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the park. But the evenings are still very pleasant. And what made last night (Thursday 21st March 2024) very special was the show we saw – ‘Destino, a tour through Mexico’.
When we visited back in November, the amphitheater was still under construction. Obviously, it is now finished – and looks good.
La Plancha Park is proving to be a great meeting point and a must-see destination when you visit Merida. And for the local residents.
The first show at La Plancha Park Amphitheater
‘Destino, a tour through Mexico’ is a government-sponsored show to the launch of the Amphitheater in La Plancha Park.
The show has been on since 28th February and finishes on 24th March. The shows run daily from Tuesday to Sunday at 6 pm on weekdays or 6.30 and 8 pm on weekends. It is completely free, which given the high quality is awesome.
There has been debate as to the seating capacity of the Amphitheater, ranging from 4,000 to 10,000. I would say the 4,000 estimate is more likely. There are plastic seats (without backs) fixed to the concrete benches. There is adequate space between rows and between seats.
No matter what the capacity, even after running for four weeks, the amphitheater was packed! A friend of ours went ahead to get seats as we were delayed. She reported that the queue was very long at 6 pm for the 6.30 pm show. It took her more than 15 minutes to get to the seats and she quickly had to give up the seats she saved for us.
Despite losing our seats near the front, the layout of the amphitheater is such that you can get a good view from nearly everywhere. However, you’ll see in my photos that there were a lot of poles but they were for the acrobats’ safety net.
The atmosphere was great – the sunset was setting and throwing a lovely orange glow along the horizon as the show started. The temperature had dropped to sensibly warm, with a light breeze to make it pleasant.
Destino, a tour through Mexico!
The title of the show was ‘Destino, a tour through Mexico’.
As a ‘tour’ of Mexico it had some interesting ideas – Monarch butterflies from Michoacan, Chichen Itza, other Mayan ruins from the Yucatan, and a colorful Puebla Magicao town square (but where?). There may have been other Mexico-related items I missed. This was, after all, an aerial extravaganza!
This was a very enjoyable night out. The audience really enjoyed it. The cheers and clapping were intense. When old Mexican songs were playing, many of the audience joined in with loud enthusiasm.
The Program for the show at La Plancha Park
The show started with some ladies walking on stage. During the whole show, a guy wearing a flying helmet worked to distract the audience during the changing of the scenes. And he did an excellent job.
A single hula hoop artist quickly followed, who wowed the audience with her skill with multiple hoops. After her performance, a man dressed as a Mexican Charro joined her on stage, holding a massive hoop. It was about 8 feet across, with a diameter as thick as my wrist. He was able to copy most of the girl’s tricks, even when she swung the hoop around her neck!
Next up were two rollerblade artists, who quickly took to the air and finished with a shower of sparks and fireworks.
After this, four ladies dressed as giant Monarch butterflies came on stage, joined by the ‘queen’ of Monarch butterflies, who quickly took to the air to perform some dazzling aerial stunts.
Then came a group, each dressed as robots and colored flashing lights. During their performance their lights spelled ‘Mexico’ and then ‘Yucatan’ – much to the crowd’s delight!
The highlight of the evening was four trapeze artists. They soared above the stage (and a safety net). It was a spectacular display, with only one (practiced?) mistake, when one of the artists missed the hands of her colleague and plunged into the net below. It added a nice touch.
At the end, all 16 performers came on stage to thunderous applause.
It was a great performance and highly recommended. This show has already been on in Puebla and other cities around Mexico. So, if you get a chance, go and see it. Many of our friends have now seen it two or three times.
Nice food in the evening at La Plancha
The large crowd left fairly quickly after the show. We were a little concerned the crowd would go to the Mercado Gastronomico, as we were keen to grab a bite to eat. Fortunately, it is a large food market and our group of 11 had no trouble getting a table.
We feasted on pizzas, cinnamon buns, and torta al pastor. The breeze blowing through the open-sided food market was a delight.
Overall, the food market was an excellent place to end a lovely evening with friends.
As you can see from the photos, nighttime in La Plancha Park is very pleasant. It’s also very safe.
There are security guards dotted around unobtrusively and 127 cameras to enhance the security. On our visits, both during the day and at night, we have seen many families enjoying the space and facilities.
If you want to learn more about the history and facilities of La Plancha Park read ‘La Plancha Park, Merida – the Green Lungs of the City‘
David H
After spending months in places like Playa del Carmen and Ajijic (near Lake Chapala, Guadalajara), my family and I have been living for the past four years in the Yucatan and enjoying this fabulous part of Mexico.
I've written many travel blogs for other travel sites over the years before starting Wonky Compass. I have three books published on Amazon.
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