This week I published a brief note about the conflictive relation between tourism and the ocupation of land that was taking place in the location of Tilcara, in the argentinean province of Jujuy, which is visited by thousands of tourists every year. Starting on an email and a note published in Salta Libre, I told some of the things I’d read, and asked if anyone could provide some information.

Now, Jaro Godoy, the author of the note in Salta Libre, answered my questions and extends some of the topics in his note. He authorized me to publish the text, so I’ll copy it below:

Dear Jorge: I’m very interested in giving this topic the difussion it needs, the problem is worsening with the passing of he days, there’s much injustice from the usual generals, I’ll give you some details:

The intendent of Tilcara, authorizes without reason, the construction of more hotels, hostel, sidewalks, casinos, and now there are rumours of a night club. The intendent pays no attention to any accusation. The Province Government has just sold land in Yacoraite (an archaelogical site), where 15 families have lived their whole lives, to Mr. Adrian Garcia del Rio.

The UNESCO has sent fonds to some organizers, all of them with economic mindsets, who don’t really care about preserving these lands, such as Mr. Jose -Architect “Champa”, who has a Tea House in Tilcara and land properties in Juella. They’ve made a congress in the Hotel del Turism in Tilcara, to -in theory- help the tilcaran people. In that congress only 7 tilcarans assisted, the rest of the people were outsiders who intend to keep building hotels destroying nature. The Patrimony of Humanity was made with economic reasons and was thought for big opportunist enterpreneurs to buy land without caring for anything at all.

A CLEAR EXAMPLE OF HOSTILITY AND PERJURY:

On saturday 10, 2005, a City Commissary, evicted the young mother Mariela Cemarrelli -Sister of Cachamay (a very popular tourist guide)- from the home the Government gave to her deceased mother many years ago -Fiscal land in B°24 Viviendas- Malka, this sir in complicity with Judges and the Police, proceeded to evict without pity this woman and her two children, who at this moment have nowhere to live.

The situation in Tilcara is getting more dangerous every passing day, today the few tilcarans left are at risk and there’s no law that protects them.

We’re exposed to strangers coming with documents, taking away the little the’ve got left. And that belongs to them for human and moral rights.

It’s up to this, my friend, the little information I can share with you about the obscurity around this topic, that no government wants to deal with, much less intervene.

The touristic enterpreneurships are multiplying these days, of course camouflaged behind big walls, but soon they’ll see the light, when there’s nothing we can do to stop it, the land since it was declared patrimony has raised in some cases 3000 %, it’s a big business for certain dark sirs who ride around in their Mercedes and dissapear.

If anyone wants to add or rectify some information, you have the comments space to your disposition. I’m really interested in digging more into this problem in Tilcara, which is not only quite interesting, but it hasn’t been boarded by the argentinean media.