ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico, to demonstrate how a city can use an event based on a character that has no factual or historical links to the city as part of its branding strategy. In this case, Cervantes and Don Quixote ended up inserted in the collective identity, contributing a new component to the traditional social representation about the city. In this chapter, the 2015 festival has been used as a case study. More than 400 activities took place, including concerts, performances, theatre and exhibitions in both open-air and indoor venues. Outdoor activities are free and aimed at a wider audience, while those held indoors are focused on new artistic trends and a more specialised audience. The co-branding of Guanajuato-Cervantes is widely accepted and is encouraged in the tourism industry.
