Berger, Dina and Andrew Grant Wood, (eds.). Holiday in Mexico: Critical Reflections on Tourism and Tourist Encounters.
Hall, Michael R.
Berger, Dina and Andrew Grant Wood, (eds.). Holiday in Mexico:
Critical Reflections on Tourism and Tourist Encounters. Durham, NC: Duke
University Press, 2010.
The economic importance of tourism in the Mexican economy is only
surpassed by oil exports and remittances from Mexican workers living
abroad. In Holiday in Mexico: Critical Reflections on Tourism and
Tourist Encounters, twelve scholars provide insightful essays that
highlight the economic growth created by the tourist industry in Mexico
and reveal the cultural, environmental, and social consequences of that
industry. Unlike other leisure activities, tourism "brings into
contact people from different nations, socioeconomic classes, and
ethnicities." (p. 2) As such, the authors argue that historical
studies of tourism reveal human interaction that is "both
pleasurable and profitable as well as exploitative and depleting."
(p. 3) A relatively new field of historical inquiry, research on tourism
allows students and scholars to examine complex issues related to class,
development, ethnicity, gender, and multi-culturalism.
Like many multi-authored volumes of Latin American studies
published by Duke University Press, the origins of the book under review
grew out of interactions between scholars at academic conferences. Dina
Berger, assistant professor of history at Loyola University, and Andrew
Grant Wood, associate professor of history at Tulsa University, are
responsible for collecting and editing the essays included in Holiday in
Mexico. As such, Berger and Wood have edited the first collection of
essays dedicated to the study of Mexican tourism. For the most part, the
essays, which are justifiably weighted toward the post-World War II
period, are well-written, well-researched, and make a compelling
argument. In the aftermath of the Mexican Revolution, the Mexican
government and private entrepreneurs laid the groundwork for
Mexico's tourist industry. The editors posit that Mexico has
"long been an attractive destination for travelers" that has
"provided opportunities for Mexicans to capitalize on their
nation's natural wealth." (p. 1)
In her essay, Andrea Boardman argues that the foundations of the
modern Mexican tourist industry can be found in Mexican-American War
(1846-1848). Boardman contends that the thousands of American troops who
fought in the war were "the first generation of Americans who in
large numbers spent a concentrated time in dramatically diverse parts of
Mexico." (p. 21) As such, she views the American soldier-tourists
as proto-tourists who awakened the desires of subsequent generations of
Americans to the cultural and geographic allure of Mexico. Christina
Bueno's essay details the importance of the archaeological site at
Teotihuacan. The goal of the Mexican government was not an
"accurate archaeological restoration" of the ruins, but rather
an attempt to portray the past and present grandeur of the nation. (p.
70) Wood's contribution to the collection is a study of the
pre-Lenten Carnival in Veracruz, the only essay that specifically deals
with domestic, rather than international, tourism. Berger's essay
views tourism as a form of cultural diplomacy that exemplified the
dynamics of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Good Neighbor policy. As such,
she contends that tourism was a "nexus of cooperation between the
United States and Mexico." (p. 107) Eric Schantz presents a study
of tourism in the Mexico-California border zone between 1938 and 1965.
In what is otherwise a competent study, the author introduces his topic
with a convoluted comparison to an episode of The Simpsons rather than
explaining why he chose the years 1938 and 1965 as the parameters for
his essay. Subsequent essays detail the development of the tourist
industry in Acapulco, San Miguel de Allende, Cancun, and Los Cabos. With
the exception of San Miguel de Allende, all of the projects were
government-led initiatives. Jeffrey Pilcher's essay on the role of
food and drink in Mexico's tourist industry is one of the most
interesting and revealing chapters in the book. Barbara Kastelein's
disjointed observations of a travel writer offer the reader little of
academic value.
The authors do an admirable job of unveiling the cultural,
economic, political, and social underpinnings of the Mexican tourist
industry. The writing is based on solid archival evidence infused with
first-hand knowledge of the subject matter. The editors infer that
neo-liberalism has had a less than positive impact on Mexico and its
people. Nevertheless, they affirm that "both guests and hosts can
have (and have had) much to share, learn, and even profit from each
other." (p. 16) Holiday in Mexico reveals that historical studies
of tourism are an important subject of critical inquiry. In addition to
offering students and scholars a competent historical study of
Mexico's tourist industry, Berger and Wood have provided scholars
with a template for future studies of tourism in Latin America.
Michael R. Hall
Armstrong Atlantic State University
