Destruction of the patrimony, construction of the no place, Huasca de Ocampo, Hidalgo

Abstract

In order to initiate or increase tourist activity in certain localities, actions are taken to capitalize built, unbuilt, tangible and intangible heritage areas. These interventions are often low criteria and are carried out or promoted by the government at the federal, state and municipal levels, jointly or individually. Sometimes these interventions are favorable but other times they are counterproductive because they do not contribute to the preservation of heritage and lead to the creation of a ‘no place.’ In order to study this problem, a qualitative method based on interviews with local social actors was used to analyze three proposed variables. Among the findings are that not all the interventions made to contribute to a town contemplated all the possible repercussions. Such is the case of the terrace built on the river, which is abandoned and deteriorating. The purpose of the terrace was to move the tourism service providers to this area. The service providers are currently in front of the church and the central garden which endangers the permanence of the town in the Magic Towns Program (PPM), given that this program establishes that in the public space areas there should not be street vendors.