#sillas tu y yo merida

2018 - Mexico - Merida - You and Me Chairs por Ted McGrath
Por Flickr:
Merida is known as a colonial city, but now this cosmopolitan city has distinguished itself from other cities in Mexico by having something very particular that only can be seen in its originality in the state of Yucatan, even more in Merida. The “You and Me Chairs”, or the “sillas tu y yo” are what brings a uniqueness quality to the city. It is very rare to find in any other Mexican state to have an abundance of “sillas tu y yo”. The chairs or benches can be seen all around Merida. The chairs seat two people, they are binary and are usually painted white, and the chairs are connected by their handles on opposite sides, so when you sit down you are facing the other person. The name “ tu y yo” is Spanish for you and me, was the name given to the chairs for obvious reasons. The “tu y yo” chairs have become part of the Yucatan culture and identity. It is unsure on why the chairs were constructed. Some believe that it was a design taken from the “butacas confidentes”, the name of similar chairs designed in France during the Renaissance. Although the origin of the chairs is unclear, there is a popular legend many people in Merida like to believe is the reason behind the “sillas tu y yo”. The tale says there once was a very overprotective father in Merida and he had a daughter who at the time was seeing a boy who she really liked. The daughter would tell her father that she wanted to go out with the boy, but then the overprotective father would ask her “to do what?”, and she would reply, “just to talk”. The father agreed to let her go out and talk to the boy, but when the boy and girl were sitting down on a normal traditional bench the father saw how close they were sitting next to each other, so he decided to create the “sillas tu y yo”. This way the boy and the girl could “just talk” comfortably without having to sit next to each other. Regardless of what brought the chairs to the city of Merida the you and me chairs have become part of the city’s culture and individuality. This oversized example are located in Parque de Santa Lucía, Centro Historico Merida