The tourist who sparked outrage after climbing an ancient Mayan pyramid in Mexico’s Chichén Itzá this week has been identified as a 29-year-old Mexican national Abigail Villalobos.
Villalobos attempted to pass herself off as a Spaniard after she was arrested for her viral stunt. It was later found that she is actually from Mexico. She has since been dubbed by locals as ‘Lady Chichen Itza.’
Villalobos was detained for about 30 minutes at the Tinum police station Monday following the incident. She was also fined the equivalent of $260 and then released, the local Mexican news outlet Golfo Pacifico.
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Eyewitnesses were furious when Villalobos sparked outrage when she flouted rules prohibiting visitors from scaling the 98-foot Mayan Temple of Kukulcán, which was named one of the New 7 Wonders of the World by UNESCO in 2007.
A TikTok video shows her dancing on the steps at the top of the pyramid and entering the temple, before descending after the crowd of visitors hurled profanities at her.
An elderly woman briefly stopped her and pulled her hair. Other tourists dosed her with water.
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Mexico’s Federal Law on Monuments and Archaeological, Artistic and Historical Areas says that those who access the site without authorization can be fined anywhere from $2,500 to more than $5,000.
Mayan pyramid was built by the Maya civilization sometime between the 8th and 12th centuries AD to serve as a temple to the Feathered Serpent deity Kukulcán.