A rebel territory behind the tourist scene: Negotiating national belonging and indigeneity in Quintana Roo

Abstract

When we think of tourism or migration, we think of international mobility. However, the history of Quintana Roo teaches us that tourism and migration can be forces of nationalization. This article invites us to revisit the history of the southeast Yucatan peninsula, in order to understand the mechanisms that presided over its inclusion into the Mexican nation and the logic of the resistance movement that was opposed to it. Furthermore, this article delves into the ritual practices, social organization and territoriality inherited from the Cast War, that are kept alive by the rebels’ descendants (Cruzoob), unbeknownst to the gaze of the tourists and migrants who currently inhabit the region. How did the Cruzoob negotiate an identity as Indigenous to the nation, without losing sight of their sense of territorial sovereignty? At the time of the development of the Mayan Train, what are the challenges of the potential touristification of the Cast War? These are some questions that this article proposes to shed light on, in conversation with historical and anthropological readings, and drawing on ethnographic material collected in Tulum.