Andrea Jimena Marañón Laguna

While development and tourism projects like the Maya Train are often aimed at revitalizing and celebrating local artisans and cultural heritage, do they actually work to achieve these goals? This project will determine the impact of the Maya Train on local craftwork by undertaking an ethnographic study of pottery production in Uayma, Yucatán. Craft production in México is primarily associated with other states, however, Yucatán is increasingly positioning itself as a center for handicrafts. The influx of visitors to the so-called Maya area has fostered a thriving industry for arts and handicrafts, significantly impacting the economies of local communities that rely on tourism for income. One of these is the town of Uayma, which stands out for its family-run pottery workshop and specializes in working with natural clays. Through this 12-month research project, I aim to study how multiple actors contribute to creating and shaping Maya imaginaries by examining how representations of ethnic identity emerge and circulate, how ceramic production responds to economic and social conditions, and how potters engage with tourists and the nation-state.