Landscape and cultural heritage of a Magical Border town

Abstract

Landscape and cultural heritage are two concepts which intertwine from different perspectives, among them, the perception and the interaction which occurs between human beings and their surrounding environment, the importance of both of them as manifestations of culture, from the symbolic as a reflection of the values of a social group, or as basic elements for the development of tourism activity. From this last perspective, the analysis of these elements is approached, seen as an asset which acquires relevance with the tourist activity while being impacted by it. Tecate, Baja California is presented as a study case, the small city has a denomination as “Pueblo Mágico” (a mexican federal bureau of tourism program whose name translated to english means “Magical Town”). The city’s condition as a border town and its historical context is different from most of the other magical towns of the country, since they have originated during theSpanish viceroyalty, while Tecate consolidated as an urban core in the middle of the 20th Century. This paper analyzes the elements of the landscape and cultural heritage that formed part of the designation granted to Tecate as a “Magical Town”, in the first instance to know their features and significance, then to know how both complement each other in the conformation of a touristic offer, and finally, to establish how this economic activity is transforming both landscape and cultural heritage elements within the city of Tecate.