INTANGIBLE HERITAGE

First of all, I would like to star with the definition of Cultural heritage. what is this? Well, the term itself refers to the past of a community, region, country, etc. which has been preserved until now and will continue from generation to generation. Now, what about intangible cultural heritage? UNESCO and the 2003  Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage defined Intangible cultural heritage as "the set of creations based on the tradition of a cultural community, expressed by a group or individuals and recognized meet the expectations of a community in so far as they reflect its cultural and social identity”. This characterizes a community but that is not something physical which can be touched or moved. It is a statement that UNESCO promotes to preserve this “kind of heritage" as one of the most important for a community but harder to maintain according to changes in the traditions and society.

So, what about Mexico? If you live in Mexico, Do you know which are the Mexican intangible cultural heritages? Let’s see some of them, just keep Reading… It will be interesting

Since the 2003 convention of the UNESCO cultural heritage is divided into the following areas: Oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of intangible cultural heritage; performing arts; social practices, rituals and festive events; knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; traditional ancestral techniques.

Mexico currently has 7 registered cultural expressions on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which together with Colombia, are the two Latin American countries, and in general the American continent, with more registered cultural expressions, which are these seven? Such as:

· El Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet since 2011

· The culinary tradition of Michoacan, 2010

· Pirekua, traditional singing P'urhépecha, 2010

· Parachicos in the traditional January feast of Chiapas de Corzo, 2010

· The ritual ceremony the Voladores, since 2009

· Places of memory and living traditions of the Otomí-Chichimecas people of Tolimán, 2009

· The Indigenous Festivity dedicated to the Dead, 2008                   

Well these are some of them, and we would like to acknowledge or give special treatment to two aspects: gastronomy and Day of the Dead festival. The first is considered an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, considering that is well known worldwide and I recommend anyone who is from another country and who has not eaten their good tacos. Now the second... the day of the dead festival, at first I said that these expressions are very difficult to preserve because our society is changing such as this celebration, now many people are influenced by other cultures and customs from others countries and forget how great is this celebration, which has a rich background in history and beauty (and yes I mean the happy HALLOWEEN). Our country has a rich history and beauty in culture terms, do not be ashamed when someone from another country ask what is the Mariachi or what is the Day of the Dead, we do this we identify himself to many countries, I assure you that if you ask a Chinese or an American to name a country in Latin America the first thing that comes to their mind is Mexico. If you are from another country like Colombia or any other, strive to keep the roots that make you Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, USA; respect it and take pride.

Miguel Velasco