We found ourselves on the shores of Lago Atitlan, a large deep lake surrounded by volcanos and dotted with small indigenous villages. We arrived in one of those villages, San Pedro, after a 3.5 hour ride on a cramped mini van through the Guatemalan country side passing many small villages and towns along the way. This ride, along with our time in San Pedro provided an opportunity to really see and experience the local culture. No doubt that this town and the many towns that dot the lake are quite poor and tourism is a huge part of the local economies. To that end many expats have come to Guatemala to establish hotels, hostels, restaurants, tour companies, etc which has had a mixed impact on both the experience of travelers and that of the local people.
Critically speaking, it almost seems to be just another iteration of the colonialist practices that have given rise to institutions that operate to keep the indigenous people impoverished. In retrospect this is something that I have observed in many parts of the developing world to varying degrees, but it seems particularly pervasive here. No doubt that expats know what American, British, Canadian, Australian, Israeli, etc travelers will find familiar, comfortable, and appealing and they do a great job of marketing it. The result is little pockets of culture within this larger landscape, both coexisting separately.
The children typically go to school for 4 hours per day beginning in the early morning and then hit the streets to work selling all sorts of goods and services from cashews and chocolate breads to shoe shines. This adds an additional 5 hours of work time to the days of most children. The youngest boy we met was 7 years old who was selling shoe shines. We did not purchase the shoe shine but shared our lunch with him instead. He ate the meat but not the vegetables as he said he didn't like them, but at our suggestion he did give them a try. And so it goes, young children frequent the expat businesses to offer pop corn, baked goods, and honey roasted peanuts. I can't help but wonder how this town, or this country might be different if the local people actually owned their own means of production (i.e. the establishments that capture the majority of the tourist revenue). Would the tourists still come if they could not speak Spanish or if they could not hang out at the resort hostels with hot water, western style toilets, English speakers abound, and Bryan Adams on the radio? In a land so different from that of the many travelers that come through here, the lack of the comforts of home can be a bit foreboding. Understandably so! In the end, so many come here and stay for weeks or months but truly fail to have a meaningful cultural exchange.
Critically speaking, it almost seems to be just another iteration of the colonialist practices that have given rise to institutions that operate to keep the indigenous people impoverished. In retrospect this is something that I have observed in many parts of the developing world to varying degrees, but it seems particularly pervasive here. No doubt that expats know what American, British, Canadian, Australian, Israeli, etc travelers will find familiar, comfortable, and appealing and they do a great job of marketing it. The result is little pockets of culture within this larger landscape, both coexisting separately.
The children typically go to school for 4 hours per day beginning in the early morning and then hit the streets to work selling all sorts of goods and services from cashews and chocolate breads to shoe shines. This adds an additional 5 hours of work time to the days of most children. The youngest boy we met was 7 years old who was selling shoe shines. We did not purchase the shoe shine but shared our lunch with him instead. He ate the meat but not the vegetables as he said he didn't like them, but at our suggestion he did give them a try. And so it goes, young children frequent the expat businesses to offer pop corn, baked goods, and honey roasted peanuts. I can't help but wonder how this town, or this country might be different if the local people actually owned their own means of production (i.e. the establishments that capture the majority of the tourist revenue). Would the tourists still come if they could not speak Spanish or if they could not hang out at the resort hostels with hot water, western style toilets, English speakers abound, and Bryan Adams on the radio? In a land so different from that of the many travelers that come through here, the lack of the comforts of home can be a bit foreboding. Understandably so! In the end, so many come here and stay for weeks or months but truly fail to have a meaningful cultural exchange.
Great points here on the socio-cultural effects of tourism. This is exactly what I'm getting ready to study!
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