On Being Maya and Getting By: Heritage Politics and Community Development in the Yucatán

Tourism in Ek’ Balam, Yucatán, has transformed the community by creating jobs and revaluing Mayan culture, but it also perpetuates economic inequality and performative commodification of indigeneity. The study reveals that while community-based tourism (CBT) projects have provided some agency to the Maya people, they remain largely as props for the industry, with authenticity being a contested and exhausting performance. The research explores how neoliberal policies, such as land privatization post-NAFTA, have accelerated this transformation, leading to economic dependence on tourism while also creating social fissures within the community.

McDonald, J. H. (2020). On Being Maya and Getting By: Heritage Politics and Community Development in the Yucatán. Ethnohistory, 67(2), 333–334. https://doi.org/10.1215/00141801-8025502