ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the patrimonial landscape in Mexico. It seeks to contribute to published research in English, in order to foster a better knowledge and understanding of this country – and of the Latin American region broadly. The chapter considers the rich but complex semantic meaning and practices that patrimonio has in Mexico, resulting from its particular socio-historical context. It focuses on some aspects of cultural patrimony. The chapter presents the particularities of the notion of patrimony in the Mexican context, as well as to examine the socio-historical conditions and context that explain its developmental path. It shows that the term heritage is not appropriate for conveying the particular web of implications that patrimonio has. The chapter presents how changes in the traditional concepts and terminologies of patrimony – for example, the notion of 'monument' – have taken place as a result of the interaction and intervention of new entities beyond the State and National Institute for Anthropology and History.
