TENSIONES ENTRE EL PATRIMONIO TANGIBLE E INTANGIBLE EN YUCATÁN, MÉXICO: LA IMPOSIBILIDAD DE RE-CREAR UNA CULTURA SIN ALTERAR SUS CARACTERÍSTICAS

Abstract

This article examines tensions and dialogs between tangible and intangible cultural heritage through the case of architectural recycling in Yucatán, Mexico. Certain contradictions are evident in the official definitions of these two types of heritage, which characterize intangible heritage as something dynamic and active and it tangible heritage as a series of objects that must be maintained in situ without human alteration. These tensions are even more evident when heritage laws are applied inside of Maya-speaking communities, whose residents participate in a tradition of colonization and architectural recycling that seems irreconcilable with the vision of tangible heritage as unalterable. The inherent tension between these two perspectives on landscape and pre-Hispanic ruins can be the basis for developing pragmatic forms of collaboration and inclusion.