LAS LIMITACIONES DEL PAISAJE CULTURAL EN HISPANOAMÉRICA

Abstract

This article investigates how the wealth of Hispanic American heritage is inscribed in the World Heritage List under standardized criteria, among which the category of “cultural landscape” seems to be used in a limited way for this region. The factors that restrict its inclusion in this category are mainly related to the cultural origin of the assets. A representative example is the lake area of Xochimilco in Mexico City, declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 along with the Historic Center of Mexico City. Xochimilco is a unique and exceptional heritage site that integrates cultural landscape, vegetation, rituality, production, and identity, tangibly expressed in the renowned chinampas. After its declaration, questions arose about the general concepts and uses attributed to it, under which attempts have been made to safeguard this heritage, inscribed in the city's most important historic lake system. The analysis identified that the main difficulty lies in the fact that Hispanic American heritage still needs to recognize its particular landscape characteristics of origin, with all the cultural value they represent. This recognition seeks to ensure that, in future inscriptions, the coexistence of cultural heritages, both indigenous and foreign, engage in impartial dialogue on their heritage specificity, and consequently, for their safeguarding.

Keywords: Patrimoniality, chinampa, plant production, environment.