Cultural tourism as an opportunity for local development in the municipality of Izalco

Abstract

The present situation of the cultural and indigenous identity plus the local development in one of the most representative municipalities of El Salvador, Izalco, characterize it as one of the few settlements with the largest indigenous history in the western part of the country; given this, its cultural values are considered as a great bet to tourism. At present, the municipality focuses its local development based on identity products such as ojushte (breadnut) and its by-products, the corn pupusa (corn tortilla flled with different ingredients) cooked in clay comales (smooth, flat griddle), their religiosity and their ancestral customs. These will come to strengthen their economic activity for they will help boost the micro, small, and medium-sized tourist companies. The objective of this article is to inquire whether cultural tourism, in its local development and identity meaning, can contribute to improve the living conditions of the local and indigenous population [in Izalco] through the collaborative and responsible management of the historical resources and cultural values of the territory as community heritage. The objectives of this research led to the elaboration of the questions that helped compile the necessary data. The questions were divided into categories for the feld work and the observations that took place in the different scenarios and with the different actors within the context of this investigation. The material was classifed based on the level of importance according to the parameters of this study. The product of culture, from any part of the world, possesses a cultural differential characteristic, and it is there where Izalco can manage to revalue its indigenous culture; the one which historically generated events of great magnitude for the country and which can be disseminated and deepened to make them endure over time.