Mazatlan fails to qualify as a Creative City by Unesco this 2019

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The ISIC regrets that the CANIRAC has not collaborated for this project but also warns that it is not easy for a city to be accepted in its first attempt

Mazatlan, Sinaloa.- For several months, various actors began with a project for the destination to position itself worldwide within a network directed by UNESCO, in which Mazatlan was recognized as a Creative City thanks to its gastronomy. However, the selection opinion was not favorable.

“In this edition 2019 Mazatlan will have to wait for the edition to be renewed, because on this occasion we were not favored with the decision of both the Federal Public Education Secretariat and obviously of Unesco,” quoted Papik Ramírez Bernal, director of the Sinaloa Institute of Culture.

He explained that there were several factors, among them, that it is difficult for a city to qualify in its first attempt; in addition to that it is necessary to work on a project two years in advance and Mazatlan barely had some eight months in it, in addition to signs that the Conalmex (Mexican Commission for Cooperation with Unesco) made.

“The opinion of the Secretariat of Public Education, through Conalmex, made several observations: first, that the productive sectors have to be more closely linked to the gastronomic theme, that is, there must be express agreements in close relation between restaurateurs and the productive sectors of Mazatlan, there is but individually, that is, the restaurateurs decide in a personal way how they are going to receive the inputs, there is no close linkage through real mechanisms of cooperation between small producers, fishermen and the restaurant industry, that’s why you have to land these agreements punctually, “he said.

In addition to this, he regretted that the National Chamber of the Restaurant and Seasoned Food Industry, CANIRAC, has not joined the project.

“We need the Canirac, as a camera, to be involved. There were many calls we made to the Canirac to join this effort that directly benefits restaurateurs of all levels and we did not have the expected response, there were many attempts in the individual, in the group to join the project and we did not achieve it, we could not convince them, “he said.

However, Ramírez Bernal revealed that there is a good path and will continue to push for the next round in 2021 can include Mazatlan now with more preparation. For this, he said, the Municipal Government will allocate 1 Million Pesos annually, while the State Government, 2 Million.

On the other hand, the Secretary of Economic Development, Tourism and Fishing of Mazatlan, David González Torrentera, expressed that now this destination is considered so that it can include an international gastronomic region.

Meanwhile, the researcher and participant of the project, Fernando Alarriba, said that, according to comments from foreigners who already participate in this network, the important thing goes beyond having or not the hallmark of Unesco, because they already have the characteristics that put the destination in a good place.

Source: reaccion inforativa

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