Overview
- Grupo Xcaret said it would pause this year's Travesía Sagrada Maya as a voluntary step to avoid clashes with cultural authorities while the dispute is resolved.
- Mexico's Supreme Court recently revoked a lower-court order that had let the company use Maya symbols in marketing, which put federal copyright agency restrictions back in force until a final judgment.
- Company executives said they have community authorizations and mechanisms for consent and compensation, and they framed the pause as a way to protect the ritual's long‑term viability.
- The suspension affects 333 people, including canoers and volunteers from Quintana Roo, who had trained for the open‑sea reenactment of a pre‑Hispanic crossing that honors the goddess Ixchel.
- Business groups warned that unclear rules under the 2022 law protecting Indigenous and Afro‑Mexican patrimony could put other cultural tourism events at risk until regulators or courts set clear guidelines.