Cultural Tourism in Latin America: The Politics of Space and Imagery

Description

Cultural tourism has become an important source of revenue for Latin American countries, especially in the Andes and Meso-America. Tourists go there looking for authentic cultures and artefacts and interact directly with indigenous people. Cultural tourism therefore takes place in close engagement with local societies. This book analyse the effects of cultural tourism and the processes of change it provokes in local societies. It analyses the intricacies of informal markets, the consequences of enforcing tourist policies, the varied encounters of foreign tourists with local populations, and the images and identities that result from the development of tourism. The contributors convincingly show that the tourist experience and the reactions to tourist activities can only be understood if analysed from within local contexts. Contributors: Michiel Baud, Annelou Ypeij, Lisa Breglia, Quetzil E. Castaneda, Ben Feinberg, Carla Guerron Montero, Walter E. Little, Keely B. Maxwell, Lynn A. Meisch, Zoila S. Mendoza, Alan Middleton, Beatrice Simon, Griet Steel, Gabriela Vargas-Cetina. Tourism in Latin America especially the sort of cultural tourism that plays to desires for authentic experiences has become a key foreigner currency earner for many countries. This important volume examines the impact of tourism across the region, providing a rich survey of the range of experiences and teasing out the theoretical implications. From the almost surreal Mi Pueblito theme park in Panama to mushroom-hunting tourists in Oaxaca to the eco-trail leading to Machu Pichu, these chapters present compelling cases that speak to identity formation, nationalism, and economic impacts. As the contributors show, benefits are differentially accrued to various actors and often not to the communities that tourists come to see. Yet, the contributors also make it clear that in struggles over ownership, authenticity, and political representation, local communities actively shape the contours and meanings of tourism, at times successfully leveraging cultural capital into economic gains. Edward F. Fischer, Director Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University" CONTENTS Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Chapter One Cultural Tourism in Latin America: An Introduction (Michiel Baud and Annelou Ypeij) PART ONE CULTURE AND THE PRODUCTION OF REGIONAL AND NATIONAL IDENTITIES Chapter Two Tourism, Folklore and the Emergence of Regional and National Identities (Zoila S. Mendoza) Chapter Three The 'Three Roots' of Panama's Cultural Heritage: The Construction of Racial and National Identities in Theme Parks (Carla Guerrón Montero) Chapter Four Through the Othering Gaze: Yucatecan Trova Music and 'the Tourist' in Yucatán, Mexico (Gabriela Vargas-Cetina) Chapter Five 'A Symbol of Wisdom and Love'? Countercultural Tourism and the Multiple Faces of María Sabina in Huautla, Oaxaca (Ben Feinberg) PART TWO LOCAL LIVELIHOODS AND TOURIST ENCOUNTERS Chapter Six Sacamefotos and Tejedoras: Frontstage Performance and Backstage Meaning in a Peruvian Context (Beatrice Simon) Chapter Seven Tourism, the State and the Marketing of Traditional Andean Artesanías: Problematic Encounters, Pitfalls, and Competing Interests (Lynn A. Meisch) Chapter Eight Dishing up the City: Tourism and Street Vendors in Cuzco (Griet Steel) Chapter Nine Caught Between Nature and Culture: Making a Living within the World Heritage Site of Machu Picchu, Peru (Keely B. Maxwell and Annelou Ypeij) PART THREE POLITICS OF HERITAGE TOURISM Chapter Ten Trivializing Culture, Social Confl ict and Heritage Tourism in Quito (Alan Middleton) Chapter Eleven Contesting Heritage in Antigua, Guatemala (Walter E. Little) Chapter Twelve Hacienda Hotels and Other Ironies of Luxury in Yucatán, Mexico (Lisa Breglia) Chapter Thirteen Heritage and Indigeneity: Transformations in the Politics of Tourism (Quetzil E. Castañeda) Bibliography List of Contributors Index