ETHNOGRAPHIC REFLECTIONS ON THE DECONTEXTUALIZATION OF FOOD HERITAGE IN THE FRAMEWORK OF GASTRONOMIC ROUTES IN QUERÉTARO (MEXICO)

Abstract

This paper offers a reflexion on the setbacks and paradoxes of food heritage as a resource for economic development in the Querétaro wine region. The formulation of a gastronomic route around the production of wines and cheeses shows the problematic relationship between food heritage and tourism, which is built on processes of invention, decontextualization and staging. To portray these issues, the results of an ethnographic work carried out in the field are presented, focusing on three specific aspects: the invention of a wine-growing model, the installation of a local agro-industry aimed at reinterpreting European cheeses, and the implementation of scene of agri-food products through gastronomic festivals. The work points out how the tourist promotion of the territory has been based on the invention of food traditions, supposedly local, and establishes its staging through the route created, aimed at tourist consumption and thereby generating a staging that recreates a pretended authenticity., but which is at the same time a reflection of the actors’ capacity for cultural creativity.