Introduction
Cultural heritage has become a basic element of tourist attractiveness.
As the tourist experience is essentially cultural, tourism demands more and more from heritage, always requiring it in its best conditions.
However, when it is exploited excessively and often subjected to profit processes, it can place it on the brink of deterioration and affect its values, especially equity. If, on the other hand, it is not exploited properly, its full potential is wasted, mutilating all the beneficial effects that it has, from an economic, physical, environmental and cultural point of view.
Development
The international tourism market is changing, characterized in these times by the increase in the variety of purchases, other conditions in the availability of free time, the level of demands of travelers behaves much higher due to the changes in the developed world, as the largest generator of tourists and travelers, whose figures are remarkably remarkable.
After the 1990s, the era points to a substantially different travel market, the changes of which translate into an increasing variety of tourists in terms of types, needs and patterns (Martin and Mason, cited in Weiler & Hall, 1992).
The true tourism product is specified in the visit to an attractive destination, with the purpose of obtaining satisfaction (Likorich, cited in Weiler & Hall, 1992) on the part of the tourist market, which is increasingly segmented and specialized, with the development of new styles of recreation and tourism (Weiler & Hall, 1992).
The benefits of foreseeing the ways of achieving an adequate integration of the cultural heritage in the organization of the tourist product are proven, in such a way that it guarantees, on the one hand, the maximum of experiences to the tourist, on the other hand, the generation of resources that allows their investment in quality of life for the cultural locality and thirdly, the optimal preservation of heritage, on which both tourists and members of the local community depend.
Talking about cultural heritage leads us to go back to the origins and see how the accumulated amalgamation of knowledge, do and know-how of human groups has been, something that infuses body and spirit with a sense of identity.
Culture today is an indisputable source of development and well-being for peoples, who live a reality in which humanity is in search of new paradigms that separate it from the banal globalization and that preserve it from destruction, a situation that has been caused by exhaustion of existing models, which neither consolidate spiritual values nor guarantee a dignified and just life for all, anywhere on the planet.
All societies have their culture, whether they are large or small nations. It is their heritage that elevates the poorest to degrees of dignity, erasing the complexes that may exist, in the face of countries that base their pride on the strength of their power and material wealth, donated by their inheritance of thousands of years.
It is essential to know the traditions and become aware of them, to know what the inheritance received is for. In these times of complex circumstances, traditions, with their universal and eternal values, function as a prodigious lever that allows us to get out of stagnation.
The problem is that the members of each society do not know how to value what they have and that they do not become aware that their architectural heritage, songs, dances, their way of dressing, as well as their eating habits are the elements that give the unique character to their culture and what outsiders want to see or learn.
Culture, historical heritage and the arts have long contributed to making tourist destinations more attractive. However in recent years culture has been rediscovered as an important marketing resource, to attract travelers with a special interest in historical heritage, in addition to the arts.
UNESCO's commitment has been and is, to encourage understanding through intercultural ties between peoples, to ensure that contact with the historical, monumental and natural heritage is a cognitive experience and a source of spiritual elevation.
Culture attracts those who arrive from other countries for what it is worth and not for what it costs. It works as a true magnet, as a gemstone with multiple reflections, where one of its main shines is the pleasure of eating.
Good cuisine is the maximum expression of culture, which breathes life into the individual and at the same time consolidates the legitimate pride of their identity.
Culinary practice is the product of the history of the society of each community and of its relationships with the ecological system to which it belongs, so that the food cultural identity can be considered the product of a cultural sedimentation over time.
Food cultural identity is conceived nourished by a complex network where internal inheritance of groups, representations of other individuals and of oneself, which have been accumulating at the whim of the changes of ideologies and stages, merge.
Currently this complexity faces the winds of our time (globalization, standardization, among other phenomena.) Rooted in this substrate, which constitutes a complex framework. Today, researching in relation to the cultural tradition of food is, above all, working at the heart of civilization.
Food and beverages in a country are considered one of the most important cultural expressions. The tourist enjoys native foods, particularly local dishes or dishes of an ethnic nature (McIntosh and Goelder, 1990).
De Angeli and Gironella (cited in UNESCO, 1996) extend this concept by pointing out that knowledge of local, regional or national cuisines is of great interest to all tourists and is an integral part of the physical and spiritual enjoyment of the tourist experience.
Gastronomic satisfaction is in the first place, among the pleasures derived from a trip and the impression, favorable or unfavorable that the traveler will have of it, can condition their evaluation and memory of the restaurants they have visited, as well as of everything seen and experienced. on the journey.
Even so, gastronomy has not been considered in its true potential, nor has it been properly exploited as a tourist resource. There are even few references that mention this important cultural expression, as a tourist resource within the cultural framework.
Regional cuisines constitute one of the most interesting cultural expressions of what has been called the intangible heritage of societies and communities.
This intangible heritage is distinguished by its ability to evoke values, flavors, modes, styles, seasonings that each time materialize in a dish or a manufacture for the palate and the celebration.
For this reason, societies have historically been organized around kitchens, shaping an immense range of lifestyles, related to production in the fields, food supply and marketing systems, the techniques and procedures for preparing them, artifacts and objects of use and ways of sharing the table. In other words, food is a fundamental part of regional and local economies and its conservation, preservation and appreciation make it possible to stimulate its potential and impact on other aspects of the material and symbolic life of each place (1).
“The Indo-American anthropologist Arjun Appadurai points out that food is at the same time“… a highly condensed social fact… ”and that it is ¨… a marvelously plastic kind of collective representation with the ability to mobilize strong emotions…”.
For her part, Uma Narayan says that “… thinking about food helps us greatly to reveal how we understand our personal and collective identities. Apparently, the simple act of eating is seasoned with complex and often contradictory meanings… ”. (two)
Each region has its own cultural codes, which have been manufactured in its historical course where concrete material and spiritual conditions converge. These codes are carried out and transmitted by characters, meeting places, legends, stories or traditionally established imitations of cultural manifestations.
The ways of expressing themselves, dressing, establishing their games or ways of eating, identifies and differentiates them, making it particular and attractive not only to those who live there, but also to those who visit it.
Gastronomy and food make up a series of attractions that are increasingly being used by tourist activity, linking to it restaurants, bars, festivities, among others.
Recent studies carried out by specialists in the world of tourism in various regions express that the trends of tourists in the 21st century show the high attraction to the culture of the towns they visit, especially in their gastronomy as a component of it.. (Scuta and Raudan, 2003 cited by Coello, 2007).
The kitchen is presented as a way to increase the tourist offer, as a main product or as an added value; considered as a rescue of the knowledge of a people.
Today, much of tourism is largely driven by culinary delights, wherever they are.
Good food does not lose sight of its cultural context and does not lose the reference to its roots. It is, in addition, a decisive factor in the creation of wealth of a nation, something that is seen and quantified especially in the face of tourism.
It is gaining importance among the motivations that determine travel decisions and there are more and more market segments for which the gastronomy of a place is the main reason to know it or one of the most important.
In addition to this, the sectors dedicated to heritage and cultural tourism have been concerned with rescuing and valuing local cuisines touristically, based on studies of the identity and values reflected in such kitchens, to take care of the food heritage and diversify the gastronomic offer of the sites Well, gastronomy carries implicit ancestral customs, history, geography, the everyday, the religious, the economic and the social, and it has not been exhaustively explored. The claim to create new tourism products emphasizes the necessary tourism sustainability.
All the gastronomic heritage represents a great potential for tourism development. However, what is needed for this is that the raw material gastronomic resource becomes a tourist product, that it is perfectly defined and that it is put on the market through business activity.
The reality is exposing in a crude way, the path through which the phenomenon of food culture is going through, since globalization in food is a process that is undermining the values of traditional cuisine worldwide and although it has its meaning in the field of food safety, has led to the loss of the autochthonous seal, from the gastronomic point of view that characterizes each country.
Today you see the same brands of products, the same ads and even the same menu in many cities around the world. The transnationals spread throughout most of the countries, invading the market with their edible products, overshadowing what is authentic they can have.
In Cuba these transnationals do not exist, however, Cuban cuisine in the restoration is incurring monotony and there is an impass, which is noticeable, it is related to the absence in the offer of traditional dishes in many regions, when the preparation of food It is a strength of the country, of its regions and localities, given by the diversity it has, the possibility of execution and the creativity of the dishes that are prepared, which has made Cuba worthy of recognition in the world.
Gastronomic products and their tourist valuation
Food is “ an essential condition for the maintenance of the existence of the human being. It is a daily historical and social act necessary to maintain life ”(Vasconcelos, 2003: 252).
The typical dishes are considered part of the tangible gastronomic culture and their norms to be respected, the cleanliness, the taste, the seasoning they carry, are intangible characteristics that are cared for, preserved by families and transmitted generationally to become a cultural heritage own.
Cuban food is the result of a rich culinary tradition in which substances and customs from various continents are combined, wisely mixed with the seasoning of popular good taste. An authentic culture, macerated for centuries that continues to be transmitted from generation to generation, thus giving an intangible family heritage.
Today there is a tendency to rescue healthy, stylized traditional dishes, which in turn, return the gastronomic and cultural identity, not only in Cuba, but in all parts of the world.
The implementation of the Culture / Tourism agreement in Cuba since 2000, includes as one of its main directions the characterization of tourism as an expression of Cuban culture and among its actions is that of:
- Maintain strict control and management of the care and preservation of our national heritage in all its profiles, as a way of safeguarding sustainable tourism and the preservation of our cultural, natural and other resources.
For this reason, it is imperative that each region of the country have all its gastronomic resources located, especially those linked to its history and tradition.
Varadero is one of the tourist regions of the national territory, which displays a voluminous gastronomic activity, as it is the bearer of numerous hotel facilities that include several establishments to offer international meals and typical food. In addition, it has a large extra-hotel network that extends throughout the length and breadth of the spa.
This characteristic gives possibilities to diversify the gastronomic offer in all its potentiality. However, the behavior of the offer of autochthonous preparations, the typical dishes of the region and the way they are prepared, are not being a part properly exploited.
Varaderense gastronomy has a historical base and can be one of the most important tourist attractions of this area and a must for anyone who visits this place, as it is a way to better understand its culture. Therefore, gastronomy is another tourist resource that gives cultural value and not just a complement to the tourist offer.
There is an inventory of dishes that are offered in the gastronomic network. It is true that many of the inventoried dishes are not unique or original to this region, but rather symbolize the country, as they can be found elsewhere. However, there are other inventories, which are not currently being exploited for the supply and which have a socio-cultural connotation, among which is the ignorance of their existence due to the generational changes that have taken place, the new settlers who settle in the area due to the potential that tourist activity has been reaching. Another cultural consequence linked to this phenomenon is the loss of consumption habits due to the lack of supply.
There are several factors that are given to intervene in this behavior, a phenomenon that deserves to be studied, analyzed, to make proposals that lead to enhancing the tourist area with this cultural resource and actions can be directed to modify the existing situation.
The history of Varadero collects in its memories those traditional dishes with which the culture of the town began to take shape, in the times when locals mixed, with the incipient offer of tourist services to tourists who came mainly from Cárdenas and other places in the surroundings - data dating back to 1883- when Antonio Torres Armengol built his populous ¨Kiosco Torres ¨, where fried fish, various sweets, delicious coconut water were sold and offered as a toast to vacationers, the popular ¨Ponche Varadero ¨ (3).
This refreshing drink is not currently on offer, why not enhance this historical and indigenous tradition, offering it as a welcome to tourists who come to our hotels or our non-hotel restaurants? Why does the rich coconut water with its natural fruit not appear in the proposals to be offered in gastronomic establishments?
Conclusions
Much remains to be done in pursuit of the culture of the region, its heritage values and its potential for tourism, not only international, but also national, which is looking to enrich experiences, feel changes, satisfy its search for the new and different.
It is a challenge for all social actors in the region, linked to cultural expression and its development in the face of the commitment to safeguard the sense of culture, which goes beyond the purely artistic, going further in its effort to rescue the most authentic traditions of this important tourist center, since these details of local authenticity give gastronomy the valuable attraction that we should not miss.
Bibliography
Bernal, A. and Domínguez, P. (2005). Art and gastronomy routes. An unexplored proposal. University of the Americas, Puebla-Mexico.
In:.
Coello, A., Guerrero, F. and others (2007) Inventory of Gastronomic Resources with tourism potential of Canton Naranjal, Guayas.
In:
López, G. (2009) Inaugural Conference 1st. Congress on Gastronomic Heritage and Cultural Tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean. UNESCO.
In:.
MINCULT-MINTUR ¨ Collaboration agreement between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Culture of Cuba. Year 2000: ¨ Compilation of texts on Cuban Culture ¨. Selection of Readings. Authors' Collective (2004) Ediciones Balcón. Havana.
Olivera, J. and Lazo, C. (2007) Local development project with a central axis in sustainable tourism. Rev. Economics and Development. No. 1 / Vol. 141 / Jan / Jun 2007
Padilla, C. (2006) THE REGIONAL KITCHENS. Ethnographic principle and foundation.
University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Presentation VII International Congress of Rural Sociology. Quito, Ecuador November 20-24, 2006.
In:
Venturini, E. (2003). Cultural heritage, tourism and local development: the path of the Jesuit estancias of Córdoba. Contributions and Transfers, 7 (1). pp. 45-64. ISSN 0329-2045.
In:.
_____________________________________________________________________
(1) Review Corn Town. The ancestral cuisine of Mexico. The file presented to UNESCO. CONACULTA, Mexico 2005.
(2) Quoted by Marcelo Álvarez “The taste is ours. Food models and patrimonialization policies. CATAURUS. Cuban Journal of Anthropology. Fernando Ortiz Foundation. Year 3 / No. 5/2002 Havana, p.62
(3) This punch is made by mixing well condensed milk, egg yolk, nutmeg, rum and ice cold. It was considered a revitalizing and restorative drink. The Municipal Museum of Varadero has provided it in its most important activities, as part of the work of rescuing the most authentic traditions of this important tourist pole.
