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enda-style bed in commanding dark ma-  to Spanish nobles. These tracts, orga-  Mechanized shredders, introduced in
          hogany, with 12-foot high windows let-  nized around haciendas, became centers   the late 19th century, created an un-
          ting in jungle sounds to lull you to sleep.  of farming and manufacturing and the   precedented boom. Sisal was “green
          Get the idea of how rock stars live now?  basis of a far-flung feudal system.  gold.” Haciendas maintained huge
                                                                                fields of agave and hundreds of workers.
          We unpacked and finished our drinks on   From the late 1600s to the mid 1900s,  Along with its “casa de maquinas” (ma-
          our veranda serenaded by water splash- Petac  and  the  other  haciendas  were   chinery house) and 50-foot chimney for

          ing into pools and hidden fishponds.  symbols of wealth and status. Mexico’s   its power plant, haciendas often includ-
          Beyond, one of the hacienda’s many   version of southern plantations. And,  ed a school, a church, stables, an infir-
          stone paths disappeared into a carefully   like plantations, in the early days ha-  mary, servants’ quarters, a granary, and
          attended jungle of native trees.   ciendas adhered to a strict racial caste   a company store.
                                             system. The “haciendados,” or landown-
          We didn’t leave the grounds for three   ers,  were the  masters,  the  “indigenos,”  The boom didn’t last. New processes for
          days and two nights. The hacienda of-  mostly Maya, were the workers.  making rope and twine appeared after
          fers various excursions for its guests.                               World War II. Eventually the sisal indus-
          But when the epicures went off on an  The economics of the hacienda system   try collapsed and, one by one, most of
          exploratory day trip to the markets of   changed in the 19th century and Petac   the haciendas were abandoned.
          Merida, we stayed behind. We weren’t   changed with it. Originally designed
          going anywhere  How many chances do   for cattle ranching and farming, Petac,  But there’s a happy ending. In the 1990s,
          you get to live like a rock star?  like many Yucatacan haciendas, began   Mexican banker Robert Hernandez be-
                                             producing henequen -- later called sisal   gan restoring the derelict haciendas to
          The Hacienda Petac story began long be-  because it was shipped from the colonial
          fore the rock star era. After the conquest   port of Sisal. Shredding the pulpy leaves   Opposite: The Hacienda Petac before and after
          of Mexico, Spain needed a way to con-  of the henequen, a type of agave plant,   restoration. Above :The hacienda main building
          trol and exploit the vast new territories.  creates fibers for rope and twine.
          So the crown granted huge tracts of land                               veranda and kitchen.


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