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Toluca and UNESCO Mexico establish the basis for direct cooperation
Mexico City, March 10, 2023. The Toluca City Council established the basis of the first cooperation in the history of the Municipality with UNESCO to develop the first inventory of intangible cultural heritage (PCI) related to the emblematic Alfeñique Fair and build strategies to strengthen the management of historical and urban heritage from the city.
We want to strengthen our capacities to build comprehensive initiatives that allow us to take advantage of the cultural heritage of Toluca and promote the activities and creative and cultural works that its inhabitants already carry out to improve social ties and how we organize our city, enhance its image, produce economic benefits and jobs, especially for those who need it most, and recognize the people who are the primary source of knowledge and identity of the Toluqueñas and Toluqueños
The alfeñique is the result of a series of knowledge and techniques to produce, for example, sheep-shaped figures or the decoration of sweet skulls related to the contemporary festivities of the Day of the Dead, which is part of the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. For this reason, the inventory will be built with the artisans themselves and other key actors, as well as with the accompaniment and instruments of UNESCO. The approach will start from the process of organizing the Fair, one of the main measures to safeguard the tradition, as well as the analysis of the regulatory, institutional, and public policy framework of the Toluca Municipality.
The historical, social, economic, and environmental elements will also be identified in the representative areas of the city of Toluca that must be linked as a priority for the optimal management of the historical-urban heritage and for the formulation of governmental actions and strategies for urban planning, tourism, for citizen participation, inclusion, for the recognition of cultural diversity, to mention examples.
The agreements made at a meeting in the Mexiquense capital respond to the challenge of recognizing culture, creativity and heritage from their realities and complexities as a public good, and diversifying the identification, appreciation, attention and finance to practices, expressions, cultural and creative products and services, without displacing others. A challenge which UNESCO's mandate addresses, by promoting recognition of the people who make them possible every day through their work and the redistributing of its benefits, both economic and social, to those who need it most, despite the fact that many times they are already a key part of dynamics and emblematic cultural and creative industries of the localities.
When we talk about the cultural heritage of cities, it is very important to encourage projects that make visible the link of that heritage not only with the past but above all with the present and the future of the city
Another topic discussed is the interest of the city of Toluca in implementing the UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (), through which the culture and creativity contributions are measured, evaluated and evidenced, related to improving people's quality of life and the sustainable development policies. The UNESCO Representation in Mexico is taking steps in this regard.
On the other hand, the Toluca City Council expressed interest in applying to join the International Network of Creative Cities, a process in which UNESCO Mexico can provide guidance about the processes and requirements, as well as facilitate the connection of the Municipality with Mexican cities that already have its registry, with the aim to exchange of experiences and good practices.
The Coordinator of Culture and Tourism of Toluca, Jorge Fuentes Zepeda, and the Coordinator of Technical Support, MarÃa Susana Victoria Uribe, and on behalf of the UNESCO Representation in Mexico: the Coordinator of the Culture Sector, Carlos Tejada, as well as Cynthia Santoyo and Alejandro Alcaraz, specialists in said Sector also participated in the meeting.
