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The Colonial Heritage of Mestizaje in Granada, Nicaragua by Ruth María Martínez Cervantes B.A

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The Colonial Heritage of Mestizaje in Granada, Nicaragua by Ruth María Martínez Cervantes B.A The Colonial Heritage of Mestizaje in Granada, Nicaragua by Ruth María Martínez Cervantes B.A. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua 2004 M.A. New Mexico State University 2008 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Colorado in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology 2016 i This thesis entitled: The Colonial Heritage of Mestizaje in Granada, Nicaragua Written by Ruth María Martínez Cervantes has been approved for the Department of Anthropology (Type committee chair name here) (Type committee member name here) Date The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. IRB protocol # ____________________ ii ABSTRACT Martínez Cervantes, Ruth María (Ph.D. Anthropology Department) The Colonial Heritage of Mestizaje in Granada, Nicaragua Thesis directed by Associate Professor Kaifa Roland. Mestizo identity has been long used as a way to homogenize the cultural and biological diversity of Nicaragua. Mestizo, as a hegemonic identity, refers to culturally modern people (no indigenous cultural practices) who live in urban areas, speak Spanish and practice Catholicism. Government representations in tourism narratives reignited a colonial identity, contrary to the official multicultural national discourse (Chapter 2). Tourism, its economic effects, along with its cultural impact indicate that mestizos as well as indigenous people are going through an identity crisis rooted in the intense cultural destruction of the colonial policies continued during the creation of the Nicaraguan nation-state (Chapter 3). Such ethnic disruption affects mestizo identity, mainly because it remains, at best, broadly defined. My analysis glimpses into the direction of new investigation of the redefinition of the mestizo identity from the inhabitants of Granada and western Nicaragua (Chapter 4). Granada is where the process of mestizaje has been most noticeable and tourism most pervasive. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my sponsors Dr. Tom Lennon and Dr. Charles Wheeler for all the economic and moral support through all these years. This project would not have started if not for your trust in me. Also, I want to thank my advisors PhD. Kaifa Roland and Payson Sheets for all the words of encouragement, guidance, time, advise and always having the right words to lift up my spirit when I needed it the most. I am forever grateful. My sincere thanks also go to my committee Dr. Steve Lekson, Dr. Jen Shannon, and Dr. Joe Bryan for their time, comments, and help, especially for their quick responses for the defense. Last but not least I want to thank my parents, brother and sisters for their support through the years in school, fieldwork and writing process. Thanks for never giving up on me. Dr. Rani Alexander thank you for the encouragement to start this journey. iv CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 GRANADA ............................................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................... 9 MÉXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICAN HISTORY ........................................................................................... 12 México ........................................................................................................................................... 13 El Salvador .................................................................................................................................... 14 Honduras ....................................................................................................................................... 14 Costa Rica ..................................................................................................................................... 15 Guatemala ..................................................................................................................................... 17 NICARAGUAN HISTORY .......................................................................................................................... 18 INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN NICARAGUA ............................................................................. 24 TERMINOLOGY ...................................................................................................................................... 31 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................... 36 GRANADA ES NICARAGUA , EL RESTO ES MONTE ! .................................................................................. 40 CHAPTER II. GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATION, DISCOURSE AND TOURISM NARRATIVES ... 52 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 53 DISCOURSE : CULTURAL POLICY AND TOURISM STRATEGY ..................................................................... 54 REPRESENTATION ................................................................................................................................. 56 TOURISTIC DESTINATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 61 CULTURAL POLICY AND EDUCATION ...................................................................................................... 63 ARTISAN AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN NICARAGUAN TOURISM ................................................................ 73 CHAPTER III. TOURISM ........................................................................................................................ 79 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 79 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................. 81 NICARAGUAN TOURISM ......................................................................................................................... 89 CULTURAL TOURISM IN NICARAGUA ...................................................................................................... 93 ARCHAEOTOURISM .............................................................................................................................. 102 TOURISM AND IDENTITY ....................................................................................................................... 108 TOURISM AS A RESPONSE TO NEO -LIBERALISM AND GLOBALIZATION : DEVELOPMENT OR DEPENDENCY ? .......................................................................................................................................................... 113 Effects of Tourism in the Economy and Safety ....................................................................... 115 CULTURAL DEPENDENCY .................................................................................................................... 126 Effects of Tourism in Local Communities – Cultural Dependency ....................................... 129 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................................... 133 CHAPTER IV . MESTIZAJE .................................................................................................................. 136 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 136 THEORY AND FIELDWORK .................................................................................................................... 137 MESTIZAJE IN NICARAGUA .................................................................................................................. 146 Securing the Mestizo Identity .................................................................................................... 150 CONSEQUENCES OF THE HEGEMONIC IDENTITY .................................................................................... 159 Indigenous Identity ..................................................................................................................... 160 Lack of Interest in Culture ......................................................................................................... 165 Mestizos, an Undefined Group .................................................................................................. 170 Reasons for the Identity Crisis ................................................................................................. 173 Mestizos and Indigenous Identity ............................................................................................. 175 v CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS. THE COLONIAL HERITAGE OF MESTIZAJE IN GRANADA, NICARAGUA .......................................................................................................................................
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