An Insider's Guide to Merida, the Yucatan's Most Enchanting City

"Carlos Huber, the Mexico City-born founder of the perfume brand Arquiste, has mastered the art of setting a scene with scent. Arquiste's best-selling Nanban, for instance, conjures the aroma of a 17th-century galleon laden with coffee, leather, and saffron, while L'Or de Louis evokes the atmosphere of an orangerie at Versailles. Huber's newest fragrance, Tropical, with notes of guava, ginger, and champaca flowers, was inspired by the Modernist villa he and his husband own in Mérida."

""We always take time to explore a hacienda, a beach, or a Mayan ruin," Huber says. "But we're also happy to stay home and enjoy our slice of paradise." Mérida, which was founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1540, became wildly wealthy in the 19th century thanks to the manufacture and export of sisal fiber, used for rope and textiles. "It was like the tech boom of Palo Alto," Huber says. "Suddenly there were all of these millionaires.""

Carlos Huber founded the perfume brand Arquiste and designs scents that set vivid historical and architectural scenes. Nanban evokes a 17th-century galleon carrying coffee, leather, and saffron, while L'Or de Louis recreates the atmosphere of an orangerie at Versailles. Tropical, Huber's newest fragrance, features guava, ginger, and champaca and was inspired by a Modernist villa in Mérida called La Tropical. The villa centers on a courtyard with a pool and serves as a retreat for Huber and his husband and their dachshund. Mérida grew wealthy in the 19th century from sisal fiber production, leading to French-influenced architecture along Paseo de Montejo and preserved house museums.

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