The Yaxchilán archeological site’s special attraction is the way it combines natural and cultural heritage, that is, pre-Hispanic buildings with the tropical forest. Of course, this can be seen in practically all the Mayan archeological sites, such as Calakmul and Palenque, but Yaxchilán is sensational nevertheless. There are no roads to the site, no parking, or buses full of tourists and vendors, and this is because of its location: it can only be reached by river on a motor boat. Prior to disembarking, visitors see a little mound on the river beach, a mound which retains its original shape despite being buffeted by the strong currents of the Usumacinta for more than twelve centuries.

Then, after walking along the trail and traversing the dark passages of Building 19, or the Labyrinth, visitors are awed by the Great Plaza, where they find the temples, ballcourt, palace, altars and stelae, all framed by the green of the trees, including a huge kapok, the sacred tree of the Maya. When reaching the center of the Great Plaza, on the right side there is a stairway which leads to the Great Acropolis, with Yaxchilán’s emblematic Building 33 and its monumental roof comb.

All the lintels, stairways, hieroglyphs and the seated sculpture inside Building 33 are monuments to Bird Jaguar the Great, winner of the power struggle with the jaguar dynasty of Yaxchilán after the death of Shield Jaguar, his father in 742 AD. As Bird Jaguar the Great was not the son of his father’s legitimate spouse, he had to pass his childhood in the shadow of an antagonistic segment of the dynasty, until he annihilated his political rival and succeeded to the throne in 752 AD. Because of this, the majority of the monuments to bird Jaguar the Great are accounts of his legitimacy and the love of his mother, represented by stela 35, where the original carbon from the incense that was burnt more than thirteen centuries ago in Building 21 is still preserved. When climbing the West Acropolis, the lintels of Building 44 commemorate the military victories of Shield Jaguar, and Bird Jaguar is represented in the central entrance of Building 42 with his deputy.

Visitors will feel immersed in the struggle for power, honor and family of Mayan warriors 1,000 years ago. And if we stay quiet for a moment, we can hear the sounds of the tropical forest... also the voices of the children playing, the chatter of young couples, a court discussion, the cries of war and finally the message of the ancient Maya to us. The causes of the Mayan collapse were the same as what we are now facing: ecological destruction and war. We should not succumb to the same mistakes as the ancient Maya, for we are them and they are us.