Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the Festival Internacional Cervantino, which represents one of the major cultural events in Latin America. Based on theoretical propositions regarding tourism as an experience, perception of visitors was studied focussing on emotional factors. Urban perception was also addressed, especially where public service failure affected the experience and therefore, the placemaking. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology was applied. First, the event experience scale (EES) methodology for visitors’ perception was performed in order to collect data directly from tourists. The relationship between the festival and the visit to heritage resources and attractions was especially highlighted and analysed. Urban field work focussed on expressing the location of the most visited areas during festival days. Public services were also assessed where perception was affected negatively. Interviews were applied to public administration officials and public policy-related documents were collected in order to understand the expectation of visitors, previous to the experience itself. Local perception was also contrasted with the rest of the data. Findings Attracted by information about the historic and colonial nature of the city, tourists gather massively in Guanajuato during the festival. This event in particular yields in some aspects to a transient placemaking, mainly related to inner perception and the event as such is highly appreciated. It was also found that the foreign figure of Cervantes was incorporated into the intangible heritage discourse of the city and linked to the event itself. However, some urban spaces and services need improvement to consolidate a positive experience of visitors who complain about specific factors such as traffic, accessibility, waste disposal and environmental noise. Social implications The fact that the event has caused some problems in a number of urban aspects suggests that new policies might be proposed in order to fill these gaps, especially by the corresponding government agencies. Another issue relates to the concentration of the economic profits and its lack of distribution, which right now does not contribute to social sustainability, yet the event demands high actions and costs to the city and local people. Originality/value The research has been useful to give another point of view to existing surveys and conclusions of the impact of the festival. The application of EES has yielded some improvements that could be made in further applications of the same methodology. Application of EES to assess the impact of events in urban spaces and services can be applied to many other cities that host festivals in their city centres.

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is a well-known discard product from the industry. This copolymer can be dissolved in organic solvents, and thin films can be created by immersion. Two requirements for coatings used for cultural heritage conservation purposes are transparency and reversibility, both fulfilled by ABS films. The aim of this work was to characterize the copolymer and to evaluate the electrochemical properties of ABS coatings applied to copper. Such performance was compared to that of a commercial varnish commonly used in conservation. The results indicate high protection values of the ABS film, generating a potential application for this waste material. The electrochemical techniques included electrochemical noise, impedance spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic polarization.

The renovation of traditional events to suit contemporary demands carries important benefits for the hosting cities, such as the increase in the number of visitors, and the differentiation of destinations and urban spaces that are apparently similar for potential tourists. However, street events attract a considerable number of visitors that are concentrated in a very limited space for a short stay. Especially in historic cities with large number visitors, the so-called tourist-historic cities, events contribute to the commodification of public space, overcrowding, and overuse of certain public spaces and heritage assets during a very short period. Thus, the walkability of this urban area plays a key role in visitors' satisfaction and experience. This article explores the perceptions of tourists in relation to walkability in the streets of the city center of Oaxaca, Mexico, during the celebration of the Guelaguetza Festival. The city center of Oaxaca was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List and is one of the most visited urban destinations in Mexico, while the Guelaguetza is the most popular annual event in the city for national and international visitors. A mixed methodology was developed based on direct observation of tourists walking along the streets of central Oaxaca and the application of a questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on personal aspects and external aspects that affect the desire to walk, such as safety, cleanliness, traffic congestion, and pollution. The results showed relevant differences according to the visitor's background and allowed to suggest some urban improvements to increase visitors' satisfaction. Urban design to achieve a more walkable city is closely related to the success of street festivals and should be included in the early stages of an event's design.

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Esta obra es coordinada por integrantes del cuerpo académico Educación, Cultura y Sociedad, del Centro de Investigación e Innovación en Educación Superior de la Universidad Veracruzana. Es el resultado de la colaboración entre distintos cuerpos académicos de la Universidad Veracruzana (Educación, cultura y sociedad; Planeación e innovación tecnológica; y Género y cultura) y de la Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca (Educación y construcción del conocimiento; Estudios Educativos; Diseño arquitectónico y urbano; y Tecnología y sustentabilidad), así como miembros del Núcleo Académico Básico del Doctorado en Innovación en Educación Superior del CIIES-UV.