You would never know the village was there unless you already knew it was there. Driving fast on federal highway #176 you would assume there was an endless flatness of luxuriant green, wild, and uncultivated land all around, an in-between countryside between the towns worth naming along the way. However, if you knew where to look and where to turn, you would see the one-lane, paved road that led to San Pedro Chacabal, comisaría, 1 765 inhabitants (INEGI, 2010). Without access to public transport, most residents had no other choice but to walk the eight kilometres that separated them from the next village, Ucí, in case they needed something as basic as a grocery store. However, if you followed the highway by car, the city of Motul – 23, 240 inhabitants (ibid.) – was only ten minutes away. A regional centre, Motul is the provider of services for the people that do not or cannot travel to Mérida, Yucatán’s capital thirty-one kilometres further on. For the residents of comisarías such as San Pedro Chacabal, Motul is an island of Yucatecan urbanity – a city which serves as a transportation node; hosts secondary and higher education centres; provides access to regional and nationwide retail chains, pharmacies and banks; and, offers “modern” food alternatives such as pizza and hamburgers. Most importantly, Motul is a centre of activity because it supplies jobs. The city is proud to be the home of Montgomery Industries2 – the biggest employer in the municipality (1, 800 workers on the payroll)3 and the leading maquiladora factory in Yucatán. © 2019 selection and editorial matter, Erkut Konter, Jürgen Beckmann and Todd M. Loughead; individual chapters, the contributors.