Events and placemaking: the case of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico

The Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico, significantly enhances the city's cultural appeal and attracts tourists drawn to its historic and colonial heritage. While the event fosters a positive perception of urban spaces and is highly appreciated by visitors, it also reveals critical gaps in public services such as traffic management, accessibility, waste disposal, and environmental noise, which negatively impact placemaking. The study highlights that despite these challenges, the festival contributes to transient placemaking through emotional connections and integrates the figure of Cervantes into the city's intangible heritage discourse. However, current policies fail to address social sustainability issues, including the uneven distribution of economic benefits. The research applies the Event Experience Scale (EES) methodology to assess visitor perceptions and urban dynamics, offering insights that could be adapted for similar festivals in other cities.

Barrera-Fernández, D., & Hernández-Escampa, M. (2017). Events and placemaking: the case of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 8(1), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijefm-05-2016-0041