Cancun ... then home

It's easy to hate Cancun -- the "hotel zone" at least. Don't get me wrong. Cancun is fun -- mind-numbing fun. There's as much glitz and glamour here as there is in Vegas. And Vegas doesn't have the beaches. Cancun is so pastiche Americana that you hardly know that you've left the USA. It's safe. It's cheap. It's miles of sandy, bronzed pleasure.

But we were in the hotel zone for 90 minutes, and it made my soul hurt. Perhaps this is because we had spent two weeks talking about the contradictions of tourism -- all of which are front and center in the hotel zone. Perhaps this is because we first went to the city of Cancun where the service workers live. Here we saw a different story than the glitz and glamour. A story of working 20 hours a day and making around $10 a day on average, if lucky. A story of people who don't have city water during the day, so the tourists in the hotel zone can have it. That's right. Miguel told us that his sister (who lives in the city) has to store water each night for the daylight hours because the water to this city is cut off to supply the hotel zone. Can you imagine? 

This is the Cancun tourists never see. It's the Cancun they don't want to see either because they/we are on holiday in Cancun. We have enough problems at home, so the story goes, so please don't bother me with problems somewhere else. 

It's easy to hate Cancun, and it's easy to deride the tourists who stay there. Tourism scholarship has done this for about 40 years now. But, hopefully, this class has taught us to take a step back from this knee-jerk criticism also. Hopefully, we can humanize these tourists too and not just the hosts who serve them/us. Hopefully we can recognize the hypnotic power of the media gaze that constructs these places, a gaze that calls us to the beach, to relaxation, to pleasure (without concern for those who must scrape by to provide us this pleasure.) 

This is not to say that we should not critique Cancun. We should. In fact, we must if tourism is to change. Through this critique, we must find avenues for critical tourist practice. We must find spaces for humanizing dialogue. We should get out of the "hotel zone" to where the people who serve us live. We must begin to understand the price of pleasure, the cost of our relaxation.

 But we must not wag the elitist finger at the mass tourists who get away to Cancun. Doing so neglects our own complicity in the problems of tourism. Doing so misses an opportunity for critical, humanizing dialogue.

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So, this ends our trip. We've all made it home. We return to our lives. The liminal space of our tour in Mexico has now closed. The blogging is not quite done (stay tuned for links to student photo essays), but the trip is.

Hopefully, this trip has given us pause from the perpetual movement between home and away. Hopefully, it has disrupted our normal rhythms of travel. Hopefully, our gazing has turned into more embodied practice, more critical practice, more humanizing and sustaining practice.

I hope.

Hasta luego....

I have a bit of catching up to do today. My apologies for skipping yesterday.

We spent the day at the Reserve and at the Casitas in Oxcutzcab. I encourage you to check out the facilities, projects and possibilities at "Millsaps South." There are some amazing things going on down here that work across academic disciplines. In the future, we will be looking for ways to integrate COMM students in media-related projects and research. 

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Last night, students presented their photo essays. In a word -- brilliant. I was amazed that these students put together such thoughtful work under challenging technological and logistical conditions. I hope to post the essays or links to the essays soon. Until then, you'll just have to take my word for it -- brilliant! 

The discussion after each presentation was thoughtful and constructive. All in all, this was a powerful moment -- at least for this professor, but I think for the entire class. 

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We transferred back to Puerto Morelos today -- the place where we began. When we rolled into town, this quiet fishing village had transformed into a bustling tourist spot -- blaring music, traffic, and crowds. It's as if Cancun had expanded 20 miles in two weeks. There's a fishing tournament in town, and it is quite a party.

I wonder if the residents in this town will remember us and note how much we have changed also. Have we transformed like the place has?

...

I like ending a trip where it began. Doing so allows us to take a new perspective on a familiar place -- a perspective that has been shaped by two weeks of powerful experiences, of conversation, of building relationships, of reading, studying and discussing tourism. 

Tonight, we mingle in the city. Tomorrow, we visit the contradictions of Cancun and have our last class on the beaches of Puerto Morelos. We are winding down, preparing to return home.

Hasta luego...

Until then, enjoy these photos from Uxmal.

You could say that this was the day that never ends. Miguel had the hotel send wake-up calls at 5 a.m. We left at 6 a.m. I think we covered 700 km today with a stop at Uxmal. The site is amazing (pics will come later), but, let's be honest, we were dog tired by that point. We arrived at Kiuic around 7 p.m., had some dinner (amazing!), a sit in the pool, and here I am, 18 hours from that wake-up call, blogging.

We'll have to rethink this leg of the trip. It's a bit long for our sanity. However, the trip to Palenque was definitely worth the extra miles.

So, Kiuic .... I'm blogging at a place that is completely off the grid -- not a power line to be found for miles. It's amazing what some solar panels and a satellite connection will do.

...

That's all I have, folks. Must get some sleep soon. But wait, we're sleeping in hammocks, something I don't do well, so I fear sleep will not come quickly.

Nonetheless, I hope to have a bit more energy tomorrow.

Hasta luego....

There's not much to report today. We went to a beautiful waterfall in the mountains near Palenque. The rest of the day, I assume, was spent on some rest before a very long day tomorrow and (hopefully) some catching up on travelogs from the class participants.

We head to Uxmal tomorrow before going to Kiuic tomorrow evening. Uxmal is a UNESCO cultural heritage site, so we will continue to ponder the rhetorical/material power of this marker and the notion that we all "own" these sites. At Kiuic, we will consider the close (and complicated) relationship between archaeology and tourism in the Yucatan.

hasta luego....

Palenque. Imagine lush rainforest, the howl of a howler monkey and the calls of the toucan. Then add some of the most intricate Mayan ruins in the Mayan world.

In a word, beautiful.

After a long drive, we made it to the state of Chiapas and to Palenque. On the way, Miguel took us on a coastal road to a town where he spends holiday. It's a beautiful off-the-beaten-path coastal town. As we made it through the town square, Miguel brought the van to a hault, rolled down his window and started talking rapidly to an approaching woman. She came up and kissed him.

This was family, and, we must assume, this was Miguel's "real" Mexico -- a somewhat mythical, ambiguous reference he has promised us since we landed in Cancun.

As we approached Palenque, the rugged mountains approached. These aren't rugged like the Rockies -- barren and cold above the tree line. These were lush and jagged, 7,000 feet above sea level. This is coffee growing region. For those of you who know me, I am now in my own little slice of heaven.

But back to Palenque. This site has produced some of the most significant "finds" of Mayan history. A royal tomb, intricate and well-preserved glyphs, fantastic buildings. 

This is also a place where we discussed spiritual/New Age tourism. Palenque is significant because one of the leaders of the New Age fascination with the Mayan calendar, Jose Arguelles, believes he is now channeling Pakal  (the king of Palenque). Jose sort of began (or at least popularized) the Mayan calendar back in 1987 with the Harmonic Convergence. 

If you're wondering what all the hubbub is about with the calendar, here's a brief summary. We are nearing the end of the Mayan Long Count, the end of the 13th Baktun. This particular "count" is not "the end," but it is the end of an era that began 1.8 million days ago in 3114 B.C.E. For New Age believers, the stars, spirits, energies, etc. will align this December 21 (the winter solstice) to usher in the new age. Throw in a good dash of quantum physics, "ancient" mysticism, hallucinogens and you have the chief components of New Age spiritualism. This is, of course, a gross generalization, but this is a blog post, not a journal article. If you want more on this, let me know. I'll send more of it your way. 

Anyway, back in 1987, we entered into the final 25-year cycle, which comes to a close this December. This is a big deal for New Age believers. Many will be coming places like Palenque and other sacred spots around the globe to channel energy in an effort to align human consciousness with the universe.

We'll be watching a documentary, 2012: Science or Superstition. I am eager to see how the students process this system of beliefs, rituals and tourist practices.

Here's some photos of the day.

Hasta luego...

We've seen the sun. We've been in the sand. Today, we got to the "cult of death" part of the trip in Pomuch. This is an experience that is at once shocking to our sanitized Western ways of knowing death and fascinating in its syncretic complexity. Part Maya, part Catholic -- wholly sacred and intimate.

I have mixed feelings about this part of the trip (big surprise). On the one hand, encountering one of the most intimate of human rituals (death and burial) affords opportunity for empathetic and humanizing intercultural exchange. On the other, we seemed like interlopers, voyeurs even -- tourists. Yes, we asked permission to be there. Yes, we treated the space with the respect it deserves. But should we even be there? 

Clearly I answer this question in the affirmative, but it is still a question worth asking. And I am still not completely satisfied that I've come to the correct conclusion. For now, it is enough that we seek and receive permission from the keepers of the place. Shallow rationalization? Perhaps.

This experience is also challenging for students. We encountered bodies in various states of decay in cramped space. We heard stories about ritual bathing of the dead, which include using the bath water to cook food for other parts of the death ritual. 

In short, this is an exhausting, fascinating, troubling, promising, honoring, shocking experience.

From Pomuch we moved to the coastal city of Campeche. Tomorrow, we take the long trip to Palenque. That trip begins at 6 a.m. in the morning, so I leave you with some photos of the days events.

Hasta luego....

We're in Merida today. Yesterday, we went to the beach at Progresso for a bit of mid-trip R&R. On this trip, we discussed the extent to which tourism is a form of imperialism, and we discussed some existential philosophy as it relates to authenticity and tourism. This is some heady stuff, but, yet again, the students impressed me with their eagerness to engage and in their ability to wrestle with and grasp complicated material. Good times (at least from my perspective)!

...

Today, we have a free day to get caught up on laundry and to explore the city. Also, let's be honest, we all need a free day to get some space from one another as we prepare for the second half of our trip (with some significant travel days in the van).

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We are moving into my favorite part of the trip -- the time to discuss New Age/spiritual tourism and its fascination with the Mayan Calendar. I am not a New Age traveler myself. However, I study this phenomenon, so this is an opportunity for my scholarship to combine with pedagogy. For any of you who are wondering what gets a college professor excited, this is one of those things!

Hasta luego....

Today, we went to Chichen Itza, a Mayan site that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Wonder of the World (in 2007). It's a fascinating and beautiful place. Plus, we had the privilege of having one of Mexico's premier archaeologists, Tomas Gallareta, with us on our tour of the site. This was a really big deal. Tomas gives tours to heads of state, including a former US President or two.

Really...big...deal. He is an incredible resource for Millsaps College, and I'm happy to have him as a colleague.

...

The back of the entrance ticket to Chichen Itza reads "el patrimonio cultural es de todos" (Cultural heritage belongs to all of us.) This is a nice sentiment -- one that I share in some ways -- but it is a sentiment that rings hollow when you visit sites like this. What we see in reality is that it is a cultural heritage for all of us except for the contemporary Maya. Unfortunately, the Maya see little benefit from the 1 million visitors/year who pay about 120 pesos to visit the site. Even the artisans at the site see little benefit.

Also, it is an open question about the extent to which contemporary Maya embrace sites like this as their "heritage." This is a more complicated question than I have time to discuss, and it is certainly a question that the site itself does not encourage visitors to ask!

Both Tomas and Miguel commented on the way that sites like this are managed more like theme parks designed to deliver certain narratives and experiences to tourists, rather than places to think critically about the Maya (and our) past, present and future. It's unfortunate that thinking critically is not an expectation of tourism. It's also unfortunate that our desires and expectations make it near impossible to design a space and deliver an experience that engages and humanizes those whose culture is made "exotic."

...

If you haven't picked up on this so far, I think tourism is a collection of contradictions. Chichen Itza exposes us to bits and pieces of Maya history, but it largely ignores the Mayan present. The site helps foster some intercultural exchange, and it creates wealth, but very little of this finds its way to alleviate poverty or create meaningful dialogue between host and guest. In short, tourism holds much possibility and promise, but it is fraught with many problems.

The answer is not to stop touring (I don't think). The answer is to work through these contradictions in thoughtful ways. Thankfully, I'm with 8 thoughtful students who I think are ready to take up these challenges and contradictions -- on this trip and on future ones.

Hasta luego....

Today, we went to two towns and religious sites -- Tihosuco and Xoken. Tihosuco is pictured above. We talked about the history of Spanish exploration, conversion and colonialism. And we talked about caste wars and revolts. It's not a pretty history, but, in many ways, it is a proud one for the Yucatecan Mayan people.

We also talked about religious syncretism, something that always fascinates me. Religions always converge when they collide in different cultures, particularly when they converge in ways that are forced. The religious site at Xoken, for example -- where we could not take photos -- was a fascinating mixture of Mayan and Roman Catholic mythology. The relic of the cross was dressed in traditional Mayan, female dress, signifying the feminine. Beneath her were her children -- Mary, Lady Guadalupe, Jesus, and others. The power of the feminine in creation was powerful in this cult of Chan Santa Cruzco.

What is notable about this sect is that it is still vibrant today. We often think of the ancient Maya and forget the richness of the contemporary Maya.

...

Our trip today took us to places that are not on the American tourist map. They are not designed for us. Many in Tihosuco and Xoken speak Spanish as a second language (Maya as a first). There was no English to be found, no markers to tell us to look here but not there. Miguel guided us through this space, but I hope it gave the students a good point of contrast to consider how certain places in Mexico are designed specifically for (American) tourists and other places are not.

It is a privilege  to go to such places to see what Miguel (our guide) calls the "real" Mexico. Of course, there is a flip side to this also, one I felt acutely in their religious spaces -- a sense that we did not belong, that our presence was disrupting the flow of their everyday life. They are gracious people (and the children are so very curious about us!), but movement within non-tourist spaces creates its own set of questions and paradoxes.

Working through these questions and paradoxes requires, I suggest, a recognition of the privilege it was to be there. I am happy to be part of a group of gracious students who "get" this. I was proud of them today  (as I have been each day on our trip).

...

We're moving into the part of our class where we begin talking about pilgrimage as a form of tourism. Pilgrims, we are told, travel toward a sacred center, while tourists travel to the periphery, often in search of a new sacred center or as a diversion from everyday life. This is Cohen's point of view anyway. This is too simplistic as a model, but it's a good starting point.

It will be fascinating to see how different people -- traditional pilgrims, New Age pilgrims, and a variety of tourists with different motivations -- appropriate the same spaces in completely different ways.

Stay tuned.

Hasta luego....

Today we went to Rio Lagartos (Alligator River). It is not a river, and there are no alligators -- a miscue by the Spanish colonialists who named the place.

There are, however, crocodiles. Well, at least there was one crocodile who happily came over our way and bumped her or his (I don’t know which) snout into our boat in search of food. Fascinating creatures, but I prefer to keep my distance, thank you very much.

You couldn’t really blame the crocodile (did I mention it was about 8’ long?). The boat captain encouraged our friend, Poncho the Croc, by splashing his foot in the water as bait!

There was no danger to any of us tourists, though I can’t say the same for the captain’s appendage.

And this got me thinking. What risks and efforts do our hosts engage in to deliver excitement to tourists? We come to places like Alligator River, expecting to see wildlife -- with an emphasis on the “wild.” Pink flamingos are cool, but let’s be honest, if you go to a place like Alligator River, you’re expecting some Croc Hunter action, right?

So, the media have conditioned us to expect certain things, and our hosts have a certain pressure to deliver the goods, even if that means dangling a foot over the boat as bait in a dangerous performance with nature. Risking a foot, I suppose, is safer than risking a bored tourists whose expectations are not met.

…

Later in the day, we got a spa treatment -- sort of. This involved floating in thick salt  water and caking ourselves with mineral enriched mud. (Sorry, folks, we didn’t have a camera, so that image is tucked away safely in our heads.) My skin is nicely exfoliated now, in case you were wondering.

What was really interesting about this, however, was how the act of gazing was reversed. Tourism, in many important ways, is about gazing and being gazed upon. And let me tell you, we were certainly gazed upon. Our hosts and others in the village got a big kick out of seeing nine American tourists roll up to the dock caked in white mud.

Perhaps this was a liminal space -- a space where structures of power are overturned for only a brief moment before returning to normal patterns of hierarchy and exchange. This experience had a Carnivalesque feel to it, I suppose, and we were the clowns.

If nothing else, this experience should have given us some sense of what it is like being always on stage, always being asked to perform, to entertain, to excite. The difference, of course, is that our livelihoods did not depend on such performances. We were there to play. They were there to work.

Hosts/guests, seeing/being seen -- these are the relationships and experiences we’ll be exploring in class tonight.

Hasta luego….

Today, we transferred to Valladolid -- a small city of about 70,000 people. On our way, we stopped at our first Mayan ruin site, Ek Balam (translated: Black Jaguar). Miguel led us in a discussion of the history of this place -- its ancient history and its more recent history when Millsaps professors George Bey and Tomas Gallereta help map and dig this site in the 1980s.

This is the only pyramid that we can climb, and since I've now learned that some parents other than my own might be reading, I assure you, your son or daughter is safe from the climb!

Valladolid will be our base for three nights. It's a wonderful city, and this is a magnificent hotel. Pictures of the city will be coming in other posts. From here, we will explore Rio Lagartos and consider the possibilities and pitfalls of eco-tourism. On our second day, we will have a discussion of religious pilgrimage and the colonial history of Catholicism in the Yucatan, which will take us to the site, Tihosuco.

Tonight we will explore the centro de Valladolid, and we will begin thinking about the role of "seeing" and photography in the construction of tourist space, tourist expectation and tourist desire. Students will have read a chapter from the Tourist Gaze 3.0 about the history of photography and its relationship to tourism, so we will explore the centro de Valladolid and consider how we (tourists/guests) are seeing and being seen (by hosts) and how our photographs help construct the reality of this place for ourselves, for our audiences back home and even for our hosts as they perform for our pictures, etc.

Photography is considered "the" media for tourism. Most tourists snap their own photos, and, of course, commercial photography is one of the primary ways we build images in our heads about tourist destinations. Because of this, a discussion of the role of photography in shaping expectations, relationships between hosts and guests and even, in some cases, architecture is paramount to understanding intersections between media and tourism.

Hasta pronto....

Puerto Morelos --
Tonight I ate pork egg rolls and pad thai con camaron (shrimp). The pad thai was an odd mashup of Asian cuisine -- a bit too much soy and fish sauce for my taste. I bring this up only to mention one instance of the global flows of people, food and culture in our increasingly mobile world.

I also bring this up because it struck me (and perhaps you) as odd to be eating pad thai in a small fishing village in the Mayan Riviera. Why it does not strike me as odd to do the same thing in Mississippi or in Denver speaks to the expectations and exotic desires of tourists when they travel. Eating pad thai in Puerto Morelos strikes us a bit of culture jamming -- something an American tourist should not do in Mexico. If it is not subversive, then it is simply strange. But it certainly not normal to eat pad thai in a fishing village in Mexico. It is not normal, I think, because we are conditioned to consume the places and cultures that we visit, not experience something wholly foreign, like pad thai in Puerto Morelos.

Nonetheless, this is the place my friend Miguel recommended, so it is where I ate. And if pad thai didn't suit my fancy, I could have ordered spaghetti, pizza or chicken satay. Not a guacamole appetizer or enchilada plate to be found!

We live in quite a world.

Tonight we talk about Erik Cohen's phenomenology of travel -- basically why people are compelled to travel. Cohen has a few ideas, all of which get into notions of the sacred center and periphery, but we need not get into that now. Tourism, he argues, is a condition of modern life. It is an expectation. It carries with it cultural capital. So, tonight, we think about why we travel.

What does touring do to our self-identity? Do we identify as tourists, travelers, or pilgrims? How does traveling influence our understanding of what Said called the exotic "Other"? Finally, what are the implications -- both good and bad -- of our travels? Do we gain cultural awareness at the expense of ecological degradation, for example?

So many questions to ponder over my mixed Asian cuisine and Coca Light prepared by a Yucatecan chef and American expatriate owner.

Hasta pronto amigos!

Well, my battery is dead on my camera, and I forgot my charger. For those of you who know me, this should not be a surprise.

Hopefully, I can find a charger in Merida for our second week.

The loss of the battery, however, is the perfect segue into the concept we discussed today: the tourist gaze.

In case you are interested in why this is a class and not a "vacation," we've started a discussion of the tourist gaze (Urry). This idea suggests that media create the images in our heads about place, which shape our experience. So, for example, for those of you who are Stateside, the images you hear about Mexico are likely 1) violence/drug trade, 2) illegal immigration and 3) the Mayan Riviera (Cancun and Cozumel -- the places for what is known for what is called "sun, sand, and sex" tourism.)

The tourist gaze suggests that the media shape our expectations and desires for Mexico. Students looked at news articles, travel guide books and official websites about the Yucatan before the trip, and the three items above dominated the mediated narratives about Mexico. There was no mention of Puerto Morelos, the little fishing village we are staying in between the tourist destinations of Cancun and Tulum. There is little mention of the contemporary Mayan people and culture.

Why do media sell the narratives they sell? Why these and not others? What are the social implications of the "images in our heads" about places and people?

Some things to ponder....

Hasta luego.

We've arrived in Puerto Morelos, a fishing village 20 minutes south of Cancun. It's a beautiful seaside village. I hope to post some pictures today.

The students seem excited. We'll see how long I can hold their attention for "class" on our first day.

We're off to Mexico in less than 24 hours!

First stop -- Cancun and Puerto Morelos!

PBS Tonight!

PBS will be airing the documentary,"Quest for the Lost Maya," featuring our very own, George Bey and students. If you are going with me to the Yucatan and haven't seen it, check it out. Also, if your parents/guardians are curious about where we're headed, have them check it out too.

Even if you are not going, I encourage you to check it out.

http://www.millsaps.edu/news_events/2012_february_national_airing_of_quest_for_the_lost_maya_is_march_28.php

Less than two months!

In a little less than two months, we'll embark on our trip to the Yucatan. It's shaping up to be a great trip. We have an excellent itinerary and a great group of students.

Today's featured destination: Ek Balam (George Bey worked at this site for 15 years!)

Check it out: http://yucatantoday.com/en/topics/ek-balam

"Quest for the Lost Maya"

Last night, many people from our campus community watched the premiere of "Quest for the Lost Maya," a National Geographic documentary featuring Kaxil Kiuic, a Yucatan bioreserve that is supported, in part, by Millsaps College. The documentary highlighted the work of our very own Dr. George Bey, Millsaps Scholar in Residence Tomas Gallareta Negron, and a number of Millsaps students.

The documentary will be aired again on PBS, March 28, 2012.

If you saw the documentary and were captivated by the Maya and Yucatan, I encourage you to join us for our class this May.

If you didn't see the film, check it out (and join us for a firsthand experience of the Yucatan).

A new stop on the itinerary!

I've just confirmed with our guide, Miguel, that we will be able to stop at Tizimin on our way to Rio Lagartos.

Tizimin is a main site of the El Dia de Los Reyes (the festival of the Three Kings), a popular pilgrimage in the Yucatan that takes place each January.

Rio Lagartos, in case you were wondering, is home to beautiful ecological biosphere and is, thus, a popular place for eco-tourism. We will take a boat excursion through this reserve.

This is shaping up to be an exciting leg of the trip!

Happy 2012!

Welcome to a new year!

There's only a few months left to get signed up for COMM 3750 -- the two-week course in the Yucatan this summer, May 14-29.

Join me as we explore varieties of tourism in Mexico. Join me as we explore the region that helped start the buzz (simply by creating a calendar) of the latest "end of the world" craze.

We'll experience beaches. We'll experience Mayan ruins. We'll experience the rich and complex culture of the Yucatan.

For more information, drop me an email: coatsc@millsaps.edu