Relations with time: heritage, history and memory in the 21st century. Critical notes about the "pueblos mágicos"

Abstract

The article proposes a critical vision of the Programa de Pueblos Mágicos based on the reflections that, on heritage, history, and memory, have been made by some specialists concerned with the knowledge and uses of the past. This program was implemented in Mexico starting in 2001 with the aim of promoting sustainable development in a group of populations that, due to their cultural characteristics, are valued as significant to the national imagination and that are considered to have the potential to attract local and international.

The text refers to the national and international context in which this program is adopted, and discussed the theoretical and ideological foundations that support it from the academic and political spheres. A critique of the patrimonialization policies supported by the Mexican state and the private initiative is made as a reflection of the adoption of global trends that have turned cultural heritage into consumption goods, whose function is to be marketed to respond to the needs of the tourist industry, leaving their character as carriers of identity and values in the background.