A good playense is made in Playa

This Friday the Playa del Carmen municipal government signed the "Decálogo del buen playense" — the Good Playense Decalogue. Ten principles meant to strengthen civic life, community values, and local identity. The initiative was coordinated by the secretariats of Sustainable Environment and Civic Justice, and signed at the amphitheater of plaza 28 de Julio.

The ten points move from individual to communal. Respect. Rejection of violence. Dialogue to resolve conflicts. Care for animals. Protection of the beach, the sea, the cenotes, the jungle. Responsible use of public space. Road safety. Participation in the community. And, at the end, contributing to the pride of being a playense.

It's good news. We could use more initiatives like this. Hopefully more come.

Something important about the decalogue

There's one thing in the document worth highlighting: none of the ten points talk about origin. It doesn't say "be a playense by birth". It talks about things you do, not things you are.

That matters a lot in a city like this.

Playa del Carmen has a particular mix. Some were born here or have lived here for decades. Some came from Mérida, Tabasco, Veracruz twenty years ago when this was a small town. Some of us came from Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara five or ten or two years ago looking for another way to live. And some came from Buenos Aires, Madrid, Berlin, Caracas, New York, Toronto because they found here the base they wanted.

The decalogue doesn't separate one group from the other. If you behave like a good playense — and it defines it in practical terms — you are a good playense. Period. Origin isn't a requirement.

That quietly answers a question many independent business owners who adopted Playa ask themselves in silence: am I really from here, or do I just live here? The decalogue's answer is clear: you are if you act like it.

What this means for the independent business owner

The independent business owner operating in Playa — whether running a small café, freelancing remotely, consulting from an office, or owning a small shop — is in a particular position to help build a better city. Not because they're more important than anyone else, but because the decisions they make every day touch more people than someone who's just an employee.

The decalogue translates directly:

Dignified treatment and respect. Not only to clients. Also to the team, to suppliers, to the person who delivers the bread, to the person who cleans the office. There are coworks that talk about "community" but yell at waiters. There are restaurants with ecological speeches that pay their staff late. A good-playense business owner starts with the people closest.

Care for what feeds you. If your business depends on tourism, hotel operators, cenotes, the jungle, or the sea, taking care of them isn't NGO work — it's long-term strategy. Sargassum, beach pollution, deforestation, poor waste management. The business owner who only looks at this month's revenue doesn't understand that the income five years from now depends on the ecosystem you decide to care for, or not, today.

Public space and respect for the city. Keep your storefront clean. Don't invade the sidewalk. Lighting that doesn't aggress. Music that doesn't pollute the block. Signage that doesn't visually saturate. The city is built by each business on its little stretch of street.

Community participation. The independent business owner can add a lot to the community when they want to: formal employment with benefits, connections with other local businesses, mentoring newer entrepreneurs, participation in chambers and associations, support for educational initiatives, presence in local conversations. You don't have to do everything. Doing something is worth it.

Playense pride. Mentioning Playa on LinkedIn as your base. Recommending the city to others looking for a place to live. Speaking well of the place. Not complaining online that "this town is going downhill" — that's grumpy-tourist behavior, not resident behavior. If you think something can improve, join in improving it.

To wrap up

Those of us who arrived in Playa later have a double responsibility. One, don't break what we found. Two, add what we can contribute. The municipal decalogue gives us a common framework — an agreement on how we're going to behave with each other, no matter where we were born.

A good playense is made in Playa. Every day. In small things. In the decisions you make in your business. In how you treat people. In how you take care of the city you adopted as home.

Worth doing seriously.

Kiin Hub is designed for independent business owners who already decided to base themselves in Playa. If you'd like to see the table where those of us already here gather, come grab a coffee any morning 8 AM-5 PM. Bookings: +52 990 403 6041.