Documenting the Unesco feast

Heritage politics can transform a dish, a cuisine or a meal into the emblem of a nation, a region or a community. A cultural and economic driver, culinary heritage has revealed the opportunities that actors can draw out of cultural essentialism, and the commercial exploitation that this can lead to. However, we know less about the consequences culinary heritage has in the lives of local communities and individuals concerned with it, in particular the most humble or vulnerable, nor the resulting modes of action – whether adoption, appropriation, rejection or indifference – it might provoke within and among these populations. This ethnographic study redresses this imbalance by giving voice to one of the symbols of current food politics in Mexico: indigenous female cooks. Their narratives evidence how practices of heritage deploy (food) cultures – and the people related to them – in programmatic, coercive fashions by building on notions and concepts of prospection, empowerment and audit culture. In villages, culinary heritage not only catalyses contradictions and tensions among women, which manifest in feelings of envy and injustice and decreased social cohesion; it also prompts changed opportunities that lead to resistance, new sociabilities and cooperation. La politique du patrimoine peut transformer un plat, une cuisine ou un repas en l’emblème d’une nation, d’une région ou d’une communauté. Moteur culturel et économique, le patrimoine culinaire a révélé les opportunités que les acteurs peuvent tirer de l’essentialisme culturel, et l’exploitation commerciale que cela peut entraîner. Cependant, nous en savons moins sur les conséquences que le patrimoine culinaire a sur la vie des communautés locales et des individus concernés par celui-ci, en particulier les plus humbles ou les plus vulnérables, ni sur les modes d’action qui en découlent – adoption, appropriation, rejet ou indifférence – qu’il peut provoquer au sein de ces populations et entre elles. Cette étude ethnographique corrige ce déséquilibre en donnant la parole à l’un des symboles de la politique alimentaire actuelle au Mexique: les cuisinières indigènes. Leurs récits montrent comment les pratiques du patrimoine déploient les cultures (alimentaires) – et les personnes qui y sont liées – de manière programmatique et coercitive en s’appuyant sur les notions et les concepts de prospection, d’empowerment et de culture de l'audit. Dans les villages, le patrimoine culinaire ne catalyse pas seulement les contradictions et les tensions entre les femmes, qui se manifestent par des sentiments de jalousie et d’injustice et une diminution de la cohésion sociale; il suscite également des changements d’opportunités qui entraînent des résistances, de nouvelles sociabilités et coopération. Across the world, the relationship between food and cultural heritage has generated extensive policy efforts for conveying the cultural dimensions of food through the interlocking of tradition, authenticity and ownership (Brulotte and Di Giovine 2014; Matta 2016). Governments as well as private and civil organisations strongly rely on practices of heritage ‘to enhance and protect the legal, commercial, and cultural value of food and customs whose characteristics and reputation can be variously attributed to their origin’ (Parasecoli 2017: 2). Heritage politics can transform a dish, a cuisine or a meal – and the individuals who produce, consume and valorise them – into the emblem of a nation, a region or a community. A cultural and economic driver, culinary heritage has revealed its potential to channel public and private interests within the fields of entrepreneurship and public diplomacy, with the support of policymaking aimed at marketing valuable versions of ‘national cuisines’ and ‘ethnic foods’. However, we know less about the consequences culinary heritage has in the lives of local communities and individuals concerned with it, in particular the most humble or vulnerable, or about the resulting modes of action – whether adoption, appropriation, rejection or indifference – it might provoke within and among these populations. This ethnographic study redresses this imbalance by giving voice to one of the symbols of current food politics in Mexico: indigenous female cooks. Cocineras tradicionales – traditional female cooks, hereinafter cocineras – is a designation used by the two major proponents of culinary heritage in Mexico, the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana (Conservatory of Mexican Gastronomic Culture, hereinafter the Conservatorio) and SECTUR (Mexican Ministry of Tourism) to identify the workforce that ensures the presence of folkloric, indigenous authenticity. Composed of women of indigenous descent who have gained notability in their communities through their cooking, cocineras embody the status of culinary tradition-bearers and the ‘ethnic’ and ancestral components of Mexican foodways. In the climate of enthusiasm generated by the 2010 nomination of ‘traditional Mexican cuisine’ as Intangible Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), cocineras have become esteemed figures who integrate traditional Mexican food into an ever-changing society. Cocineras are encouraged to practise cooking in accordance with traditional food knowledge and recipes, but also to achieve gastronomic standards to enhance Mexico’s position as a global, cultural and economic player. This will likely be achieved through the guidance of SECTUR and the Conservatorio and the training imparted by subsidiary organisations specialising in food safety and competencies certification, such as the Comisión Estatal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios and the Consejo Nacional de Normalización y Certificación de Competencias (CONOCER). Although the Conservatorio and SECTUR highlight cocineras’ indigeneity and humble origins, in practice the designation is socially complex: along with indigenous cooks who do not own businesses, there are indigenous and non-indigenous fonda and restaurant owners, as well as women with formal cooking training. Among the latter categories, some occupy positions of leadership and cultural programming as Conservatorio delegates. The emergence of cocineras tradicionales falls into two patterns: cultural commodification and the neoliberal management of cultural heritage. The first refers to how governments, communities and people alter and sell cultural artefacts and experiences to tourists and outsiders in return for a profit. The second refers to the role of cultural heritage in rewriting societal narratives. Along with a number of authors, I view this second pattern as neoliberal. I understand neoliberalism as a mode of governance, encompassing (but not limited to) the state, which produces an organisation of the social based on the principles of the market economy (Brown 2003). Under neoliberal governance, cultural heritage enables market-based relationships and regulated and competitive environments through practices of standardisation, certification and auditing. These in turn involve interpellation and tutelage in the name of community empowerment and participatory management (Coombe and Weiss 2015). In this particular case, SECTUR and the Conservatorio have created a context and framework (with particular rules and resultant obligations) within which cocineras must achieve externally predefined goals. Elsewhere I have analysed how culinary heritage proponents determine the objectives, roles and rules for cocineras, and investigated the expectations these strategies make salient (Matta 2019). In this article, I shift focus from the heritage discourse and its implementation to the impacts heritage politics have in local communities and cooks’ lives. In July 2018 and August 2019, I visited the villages of Santa Fe de la Laguna, Janitzio, Tzintzuntzan and the city of Pátzcuaro, all located in the state of Michoacán, central-western Mexico, home of the indigenous Purépecha. One relevant aspect of the Purépecha is the display of their ethnic identity, particularly strongly not only in their folklore, but also in their social organisation. Michoacán has a long tradition of tourism, festivals and ritual occasions whose enactment is subjected to conflicts and tensions of a political nature (Ojeda Davila 2017). It is also in this state where the so-called culinary ‘paradigm of Michoacán’, at the core of the 2010 UNESCO its I and with women of Purépecha and to cooking for a cocineras, and food I to their expectations and the of with the cooks as all with and tourists on a of them have in to and their I some of In I in a as The of their narratives how in market environments the community and food cultures in programmatic, coercive by building on notions and concepts of prospection, empowerment and audit culture. is the of based on The as of for or valuable on or the of the which the context of into to value from I draw on to the of to and protect valuable food cultural and some on refers to entrepreneurship through which in this women of indigenous the that are for their by I draw on on and of empowerment practices in to how the management of the ethnic culinary workforce of female and and in by traditional customs and and to by from audit as and but from the In and of have become a in the and management of cultures of through which relationships between who the and who are for them are In has a are the as are the only of their I on on practices in the of food to how cocineras with of externally to their cooking practice and the this has in of The of Mexican food within the at festivals that display local traditional and ethnic The most and most is the de Cocineras of traditional cooks, hereinafter first in in and the These are by the Conservatorio with the support of SECTUR and food and restaurant such as and the of Intangible Cultural Heritage which the to transform their and cultural into to This is through that with the heritage In this case, and its the the for a aimed at and cocineras to whether or not the and for cooking to Mexico’s culinary heritage. to this is the of practices and where there a of and customs and in women are by training. The where of subsidiary organisations the indigenous women in the principles and of food and and and of the food of and I also that through in these some women have their or to cooking traditional from the where women in whose restaurant owners, and Conservatorio delegates. The of are and A Conservatorio that the are However, one can understand them as A that only a people know how to can be to of or to not all cooks one that in the of and one resulting from the of culinary one that is in ritual one that current and who their in the not only as of an ethnic culinary also the display of of cocineras as food heritage and competitive in cocineras the status of cocineras which them and economic Cultural and from the public or private cocineras to and on and and their in and from to is the of One from Michoacán is that of a in the related their the of of and to be to for in the – that a to and for the de – the and as la and July The of cooks into a of and that who positions and their knowledge to be into and It is this for women, Mexican culinary have become a for with consequences at the community and female cooks some some and some of are to a in a restaurant by the of I of through SECTUR Michoacán which food by on the of cooking and the is an who in Michoacán and the I the of and of the be as a as is of the to that role at The most for is the one to the cocineras to the the will refers to this practice as that has and that it with the of and and with the of which traditional an by SECTUR with traditional and as well as by and from the fields of culture and heritage. SECTUR to to that with one for the de which in of for an However, the nor the that it to the cooks and by giving that the not the name of the cooks. I their from the of SECTUR that I the to where to with to about but not the a with a and encouraged to is a on which and are the The of are Mexican The has the of a the that of a I at the One of that at only a The I the the of I and the of presence and I that with from and or in by that and in a on Mexican and culture but only to the and that for but in that I about to turn and the the I a and that I their of which I likely and that I in about the experiences that to this I that I not a restaurant or and them that I not or A the of at the and as a restaurant in the city of and to This is how the to the of for as a in and in the and cooking from and The to in the The of the in and encouraged them to become in the with the of food for and have in cooking, but the of by of and Their management and cooking the a restaurant on the The of in the to their to the in to of the of the of food to the One encouraged to in that at the of the a SECTUR and the Conservatorio cocineras’ and and them with a and traditional support decreased to of the from in changed the presence of culinary and in and cocineras’ the these there to the women in their that there to and them in the and cocineras on and to and do from the the which in their and about their The between cocineras to not recipes, not but is an of the latter as a relationship that the by social in to the of and the that such is to cocineras’ as it them to the of and on this that people have to and that this one of the for from not the economic is have in one the cocineras in one of in their with traditional and but on of a politics and of that as of the to become cocineras only to cooks, and as of to reputation and as are to in and has not as a that most are to the local and some do not have a in traditional cooking, nor do as of as one of a This in that the position of not on and knowledge of but on status and as well as whether and can be for commercial and at a particular a in which as with in 2010 by from the of of Michoacán, a of the has well but has not in a the efforts women have to make to become In the the of and an to a aimed at the and used by individuals who traditional not new to Michoacán food SECTUR and subsidiary organisations have training to local cooks for in and and of the food of practices and the in for and The of the new in the of certification to the and the of the Conservatorio as the only with the to determine who is and who is not a This the of a that is one of the cultural I Janitzio, a with the of the to y and que the on the SECTUR I the of the of Tzintzuntzan to to not a restaurant but a the an food not one I It I to at the the de la The of food in one of the the It and I and in with the a in has a food for two and an in located from the in an to sell in the as people the which as a and and I I to the to The one who I that the relationship between them not that cooks only for with a only that not food which is the to the and the in the in the first in but nor to the Conservatorio or two to for the cooks of used an of and by the that it used that at the as well as which through a SECTUR and with to the The second SECTUR at with potential to integrate into the de – a Michoacán, visited and it this as two the audit cooking at local and not to the and it not make a in the has training for and also not In the audit the of is only the has on the of the 2016). is in that the for to with only be through by from SECTUR in is to do the in the we are of a en is one of the women in who sell traditional cuisine on a cocineras but food for on – a and restaurant – from cooks from Tzintzuntzan and villages and them at as with in the but it I visited one to The One of the I that cooking for an the In second one I a of from the which only Mexico, such as and In these are not traditional but a in on that be to to as from Tzintzuntzan in community In the people as a of a to to as to only with Mexico’s on a and not to and in which we also have that cooking in the for SECTUR and and In the of cocineras, the not as but the of in social In the of out a on one of the the UNESCO of traditional Mexican cuisine as Intangible Cultural in that this for but only one of the to it is a to in the heritage It for cocineras, with the nature of the heritage and a for social and economic it a of authenticity and cooks, is an that turn into of and In a study I have that the of the of cocineras a of and (Matta 2019). Conservatorio and cocineras such as and to the and the and it to. A economic from of has on the with a of to and by the of and a mode of conflicts based on This has relationships between of and discourse which most into and women as of their social market women are a to a are likely to with their and female narratives in of and for and as the in the of the of for women as and the with these by as cocineras, indigenous women their as women and as cooks who social roles in their communities and – not to the as a cocineras as women and make and of The name of this is not only with it is with Mexico, empowerment and in to the is a a who of restaurant and who not only that cuisine has to 2019). I a for for the que a on which and about but The aimed at in One of the to turn the most – the most in the social – into The about from Michoacán is one of 2019). The in which in Purépecha or ‘to as a as a who is to be a for a of and for the to to Mexican and to to the to traditional Mexican The in home which to a in – where UNESCO are located – that ‘to who to the of the 2010 UNESCO to in at the the to the Intangible Heritage we the in a and in a a The cooking the traditional with with and we are to a know how to and have a of that and the and a to the to ‘to who to I them to not to we have The in a with an used with the Mexican the of a that the of the the of the and the or on the of the the Mexican of Mexico, is can become I have in a from Santa Fe de la The of between cooking and at to the and also of the a is to the of used to with who that a to out how to make a a un para the one The on food as the of their the to on training. in by at that cooking as tourists on and The public support to the people in cooking the of women who in the become cooks in their out of these cooks from Santa the cooks from Santa Fe at the in Michoacán as a the it as a However, in the rules and of the and in to as individuals as not to ‘to the as have that to is that the traditional cuisine is and is One of of in the by local in and with cocineras, I These to into practice such as on in can Although with from region or the to I have to and and this is not for only of tourists at with The to a with a the traditional and the from of to people a have the to a of and by and and as empowerment as for action in environments with and one the about and their and of their own which are that have with and with and women, such as community and the the with out a of and which not only as a and as a but also knowledge about to is not for for as a that in action into one of and with the and of The that neoliberal as are with and and to make not in a position of and must rely on and to individuals in a or in a mode their position in the social The is that on the have from a mode to on principles of This not only to to with who have for the but also to and among who are This to in which to the that culture and are to be heritage as to opportunities to through a valuable and heritage the of and who to the heritage and social that its as well as who of the who are might heritage to a and to be to from it as on one or the heritage for value and on and by of relevant The to with to the of I that the tensions between and opportunities by heritage a who traditional the in Pátzcuaro, it is not only the Conservatorio but the cocineras who for to women that cocineras and women from one of This an economic from the of cocineras, which the heritage as a with and in and number of created there are cocineras, the heritage and its have be among Although there are of envy in these do not from in in which cocineras are market that the to and the of culinary heritage can rely on and This is the that to the of as and is one of the most and and and ethnic can be and for on the In of it have also be for and 2016). In cooks with cultural such as the of heritage Cocineras who have their cultural and also draw on it to their In Pátzcuaro, I the of one of the in is one of the Michoacán cocineras who not have Purépecha be as I by the and of with the in The that at the of the in it to ethnic cooks and with an number to on know how to do it make by cooks. to is limited and be with the at I with I a as name in some of the on the of the that on to become some this as a practice of that and that it with the traditional pattern of culinary knowledge from to and one of the of heritage by UNESCO from to study on the of Purépecha food cultures evidence of heritage in of It how indigenous women, for the potential by the UNESCO nomination have to this These women aimed at and traditional culinary knowledge communities by The political and economic in the with and limited in their on to these the on a of actors from to to public to and all of them heritage to on the The women of the of their cultural The heritage in is traditional culinary culture into and by on its indigenous female cooks. It by building and a cultural and economic these women, with consequences for their and community Cocineras tradicionales a of a Cocineras of empowerment and within new of them to state and market actors through These new and social tensions as of culinary heritage as a cultural cooking and are in of and that can be with from in the that and of – The of cocineras are by and as a social and to and by the at which the narratives of cocineras and women who for a of in the and of this all the and with the some and have become the of and The latter is not to the se but to the of to the heritage which on and to with rules or to culture. Cocineras tradicionales is an of heritage in can catalyse not only contradictions and tensions that manifest in feelings of envy and for and decreased social but also changed opportunities that lead to resistance, new sociabilities and cooperation. I that this is based on that by the in the framework of the as Cultural and the de le – I to all as well as and the for their and by

Empowerment · Library science · Political science · Sociology · Anthropology · Computer Science · Culinary Culture and Tourism · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Gender Studies · History · Law · Organic Food and Agriculture

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