Patrimonio y gentrificación. Una mirada etnográfica al centro histórico de la ciudad de Querétaro, México

Abstract

The tension between heritage and gentrification is one of the features of the historic centers of medium-sized cities touched by globalized tourism. Addressing these UNESCO-listed spaces allows us to conceive the deep and processual dynamics built by their residents, who, while subsisting and navigating the labyrinths of public policies and the effects of gentrification, carry out actions linked to their identity and memory, achieving resistance to it. Through a critical approach to the case of 5 de Mayo Street in the historic center of Santiago de Querétaro, we intend to understand the tensions and conflicts that are generated between the daily life of residents and tourism branding. Using methodology developed from ethnography, we give an account of the diversity of ways in which a historic center in a medium-sized Mexican city is inhabited.