Zazil-Há Residents Fight Relocation of Álamo Trees, Citing Possible Cenote Beneath Roots

Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo — Residents of Colonia Zazil-Há are asking city officials to leave two álamo trees where they stand, arguing the trees provide shade and oxygen for the neighborhood and that a cenote may lie beneath their roots.

The appeal follows a municipal decision to relocate the trees from the neighborhood to the median of Federal Highway 307, near the Mayakobá hotel complex.

Andrea Jiménez said the trees generate oxygen for the surrounding blocks and should be kept in the area. Before any relocation, she said, authorities should carry out geological studies to determine what lies under the roots, given talk of a cenote at the site.

Ownership history raises suspicions

Jorge Morales, another neighborhood resident, said the lot where the two trees stand has passed through three owners, none of whom managed to build on it because of the cenote. He said the authorization from Civil Protection to move the trees raises suspicions.

Municipal authorities should first conduct geological studies to establish the profile of the subsoil, Morales said, adding that if a cenote exists, the trees should stay.

The trees stand on Quinta Bis street at 40th Avenue in Colonia Zazil-Há. The relocation has been on hold as neighbors continue to oppose it.

On Oct. 28, Rafael Reynoso Valdez, president of the Mexican Association of Arborists of the Southeast, announced that the tree would be moved so it could recover, avoid being felled and survive elsewhere, since it currently threatens to damage nearby buildings.

Reynoso Valdez said at the time that the tree would be taken to the central median of Federal Highway 307 and that it is one of the main sources of shade and scenery in the area.