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The end is near. Or maybe it’s not. One way or the other, it’s time to party in Mexico.

For the past year, Mexican marketing teams have been promoting Dec. 21 (that's Friday) as the end of the Maya calendar, hinting that doomsday may be right around the corner. But now that the date is speeding toward us, the message has changed.

“Rather than the end of the world, the Maya people believe the end of the Maya calendar on Dec. 21, 2012, actually symbolizes the start of a new era and therefore is something to be celebrated,” said Dario Flota, general director of the Riviera Maya Destination Marketing Office.  

“It is the start of an unmarked cycle, the Maya renaissance, a new beginning for interconnectedness, sustainability and self-reflection,” he said.

Bottom line: Folks all over Mexico will be celebrating the old era, or the new era, this week. And Riviera Maya has a full slate of activities planned.

The region, also known as the Maya Riviera, is south of Cancun on the Caribbean, and is known for its large resorts.  Among the activities:

• At Sandos Caracol Eco Resort & Spa, the celebration began Dec. 21, 2011, and will culminate with an End of the Maya Calendar party Friday. In addition, the resort has built a reproduction of a traditional Maya village on the main beach, with dancing, candlelight processions, traditional Maya meditation taught by a yoga master and a sunrise breakfast on Saturday.
• At Rosewood Mayakoba, a New Beginnings Eve party is scheduled including traditional music and dance, and pre-Hispanic-era rituals led by a Maya shaman priest.
• At the Viceroy Riviera Maya,  the Thursday celebration will include an observatory dinner; at the Royal Playa del Carmen, there will be a cultural and culinary festival and spa-goers will be able to choose from Temazcal and Maya ritual therapies.

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