Viva la fiesta! Viva Valladolid!

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Text by Alex Marashian Photos by Rainer Hosch

Viva la fiesta! Viva Valladolid!

We’ve come to Valladolid at the suggestion of Nicolas Malleville and Francesca Bonato. This is the place they call home, at least for the moment, and that alone is reason to visit. Nico and Francesca are blessed with an uncanny ability to discover beauty, draw it out and share it, graciously, with friends and with guests. If they’ve chosen Valladolid for themselves and their six-month old baby, Leon, you can be sure it’s worth leaving even the white sands and turquoise waters of Tulum for. 

Given that the pair are instinctively ahead of the curve, it’s only a matter of time before others start flocking here and Valladolid loses a bit of its insider appeal. But by then, Nico, Francesca and their baby son, Leon, will be off creating their next little pocket of paradise. Indeed, several projects are now in the works. And, like their beach house in Tulum and their other property in Valladolid, the couple’s current residence, Casa de los Frailes, will eventually be converted into a hotel.

Fronting on charming Sisal Square, just opposite the convent of San Bernadino de Siena, Casa de los Frailes dates back to the 1500s, when it served as a residence for Franciscan monks. The Casa is one of the most important colonial homes in Valladolid, and Nico and Francesca have gone to great lengths to preserve its air of history. At the same time, they’ve managed to lighten it up (its three front rooms are now a single, grand space), relax it just enough and imbue it with their own sensibility.

A number of us stop by the Casa on our first morning in Valladolid, and Nico and Francesca are typically chilled out and accommodating. With its 16th-century tiles, courtly furniture and touches of gilding, the interior here is far more formal than at Tulum, yet it somehow manages still to feel welcoming. We could easily sit and visit for hours, but there’s much to see and do before the big party tonight, so photographer Oliver Helbig and I ask Francesca to take us on a tour of her favorite place around town, and she agrees. 

Our first stop is Francesca’s new atelier, located just up the road from Sisal Square on Calzada de los Frailes. This is the most handsome street in town, lined almost entirely with centuries-old façades, many of them restored and freshly painted in vivid yellow, burnt orange, ochre and even pastel pink. The front of the atelier, decorated with elegant restraint, is a shop and showroom for Hacienda de Montaecristo, the accessories and clothing line that Francesca has launched with her best friend from Italy, Jacopo Ravagnan. 

From traditional reboso scarves — which Francesca produces in the north of Mexico, then reworks into necklaces, bracelets and the lining of bags and even sandals — to the handsome suede ankle boots Jacopo designed and is wearing when we meet, Hacienda offers the perfect sartorial complement to the Coquí Coquí aesthetic. Already, influential fashion retailers such as Barneys New York are buying in, though Francesca intends to keep it small. 

From the atelier, we head to the Perfumería, also located on Calzada de los Friales. Another branch of the burgeoning Coquí Coquí empire, another former residence of Nico and Francesca, the Perfumería has the look of an old-world apothecary, with antique displays painted Nico’s favorite chocolate brown and bulbous glass decanters filled with essences of the Yucatán. A perfumer and landscape artist with a background in botany, Nico develops the formulas for his growing line of Coquí Coquí Perfumes here, but the beautiful old home doubles as a two-bedroom inn, each room elegantly appointed in the ‘colonial minimal’ style he and Francesca have developed for their Valladolid properties.

Out in back of the Perfumería, guests can spend the hottest hours of the day in the shady, scented garden Nico has planted of frangipanis, gardenias, lime trees and various species of palms. We’d love to wait out the heat here ourselves, but there’s much still to see and to do, and so, reluctantly, we move on, our next stop the mercado municipal, with its eye-popping array of local produce. All around the market are shops and stalls selling authentic handicrafts aimed mainly at the locals. One could happily browse for hours, but we linger only long enough to buy a fresh flower necklace for Francesca. 

From the market, we head straight to Cenote Zací, a spectacular natural sinkhole in the heart of town. There are few rivers or lakes in the Yucatán. Instead, the peninsula sits upon what may be the largest underground water system in the world. The cenotes, or sinkholes, of which there are some 3,000 throughout the region, are the only perennial source of potable water here. Cenotes held a sacred place in the life of the ancient Mayans, and it’s easy to see why.  The waters of Cenote Zací are crystal clear and blue, while the gaping cavern that semi-encloses this vast sinkhole, some 50 meters in diameter, is adorned with otherworldly stalagmite and stalactites. 

It’s hard to believe such a sight could exist in the middle of town, but here we are, relaxing on a terrace just above it, munching on fresh corn tortillas pounded by hand in the restaurant adjacent, wondering what it would be like to jump right in and join the lub, — a rare species of black, eyeless fish, that inhabits this particular cenote — for a swim.

Unfortunately, there’s lots more on our checklist before the party tonight, and so we’re off — in a taxi, to save time — to visit some of Francesca’s favorite shops around town.

First, we drop in at Doña Leidy, the charming hat shop Francesca favors, and which serves as one of her suppliers. Then we rush over to Peluqueria Sancho, a hole-in-the wall barbershop with so much character it seems almost cinematic (and yet, what art director could recreate such a place?). Though we’ve come simply to take a look, Oliver’s assistant, Mikhail, recognizes this as an opportune moment for a light touch-up. As he takes his seat in the barber’s chair, Oliver snaps away. 

Next stop — after a couple of digressions for architectural sightseeing — is Casa Aida, with its fiesta of vibrantly colored yarns. The shop supplies Coquí Coquí with all its top-quality, hand-woven hammocks, but there’s no time for reclining in one now — Jacopo is expecting us at our last stop, Curtiembre Chavez. This is the tannery where all of the leather for Hacienda de Montaecristo is prepared. For Jacopo, the leather-working team have become like family, and he’s keen to have a picture taken with the entire group. After taking it, we wander around, admiring the handiwork and wondering how Jacapo and the team endure the heat. Valladolid is hot enough already, but a tannery in Valladolid? 

Back in Sisal Square, Lena, the Tour du Monde videographer, and I have to make a short film featuring the DEDON Play Chairs and one of the VW bugs from yesterday afternoon. After that, however, the pace of the day slows considerably. Our prop stylist and others from the team have done a great job setting the scene for the evening’s party. Ice chest after ice chest is packed with Montejo, Sol and other Mexican beers. Now, just as the sun is getting ready to set, a troupe of Mayan dancers and musicians from outside of town up shows up to provide the evening’s entertainment.

The guests of honor at tonight’s little fiesta are Nico and Francesca and their family and friends, including Jacopo, Danny Harrington and his family, and Nico’s sister, Coni, and her husband, Gaston. As the Mayan brass band kicks in, the dancers, including a couple of youngsters, show off their traditional steps, and although we have no hope of learning them, it’s only a matter of time before we join in. Soon, everyone is out of his seat and dancing around the plaza, much to the amusement of the locals.

Only the lure of traditional Maya cuisines draws us back to the table — but it doesn’t keep us there for long. The second round of entertainment is a gloriously beaten-up of pick-up truck from the early 70s, kitted out with a major sound system. The truck’s owner and DJ, who goes by the name of “MIke”, is clearly an expert at rousing a crowd, and though it’s hard to say exactly how we got there, the evening ends with dozens of us dancing in the payload of the pick-up, many more on its roof and still others — Jacopo included — on its hood, as our producer, Christopher Schoenefeld lurches it around the square. Viva la fiesta! Viva Valladolid!