Abstract

This study examines the representation and commercialisation of underrepresented dark tourism sites in Mexico, focusing on Mitla (Oaxaca), the Tlatelolco Memorial (Mexico City), and the House of Sorrows (Guanajuato). Using ethnographic observation, narrative analysis, and semi-structured interviews, the research explores how these sites navigate the line between historical commemoration and market-driven narratives. The findings highlight key challenges, including the exclusion of local voices, the prioritisation of spectacle over education, and the marginalisation of deeper cultural and historical meanings. While these sites hold significant potential for fostering critical engagement with history, their current presentation often emphasises entertainment, limiting their educational impact. The study argues for a more inclusive and ethically responsible approach to dark tourism, advocating for greater integration of local perspectives, the development of interpretive resources, and strategies to enhance visitor engagement beyond sensationalism. By repositioning these sites as spaces of reflection and cultural preservation, this research contributes to broader discussions on how dark tourism can evolve to provide a more meaningful and balanced representation of the past.

Keywords:

Dark tourism, cultural memory, heritage interpretation, historical narratives, tourism ethics, local representation, Mexico.

References:

1) Allier Montaño, E. (2018). Tlatelolco, lugar de memoria y sitio de turismo. Miradas desde el 68. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, 63(234), 215-238. https://doi.org/10.22201/fcpys.2448492xe.2018.234.65790

2) Arfman, W. R. (2008). Visiting the Calvario at Mitla, Oaxaca: A critical look at the continuity of a religious practice. Sidestone Press.

3) Brandes, S. (2006). Skulls to the living, bread to the dead: The Day of the Dead in Mexico and beyond. Wiley-Blackwell.

4) Carrasco, M. D. (2010). From field to hearth: An earthly interpretation of Maya and other Mesoamerican creation myths. In J. Staller & M. Carrasco (Eds.), Pre-Columbian foodways (pp. 575–594). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0471-3_25

5) Carvajal-Loaiza, N. J., Valencia-Varón, A. M., Riascos-Guerrero, J. A., & Arboleda-Ariza, J. C. (2024). Lugares de memoria y crímenes de Estado: Una revisión sistemática sobre su estudio en Latinoamérica. Tramas Y Redes, 7, 77–99. https://doi.org/10.54871/cl4c70ai

6) Chuchiak, J. F. IV. (2012). The Inquisition in New Spain, 1536–1820: A documentary history. Johns Hopkins University Press.

7) Cohen, E. H. (2011). Educational dark tourism at an in populo site: The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(1), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2010.08.003

8) Connerton, P. (1989). How societies remember. Cambridge University Press.

9) Dresler, E. (2023). Multiplicity of moral emotions in educational dark tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 46, 101094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101094

10) Garduño-Monroy, V. H., Figueroa-Soto, A., Magaña-García, N., Ruiz-Figueroa, A., Gómez-Cortés, J., Jiménez-Haro, A., & Hernández-Madrigal, V. M. (2019). The Mitla landslide, an event that changed the fate of a Mixteco/Zapoteco civilization in Mesoamerica. International Journal of Geophysics, 2019, 5438381. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/5438381

11) Jang, K., Sakamoto, K., & Funck, C. (2021). Dark tourism as educational tourism: The case of ‘hope tourism’ in Fukushima, Japan. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 16(4), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2020.1858088

12) Jones, L. (2010). Zapotec sacred places, enduring and/or ephemeral: Reverence, realignment and commodification at an archaeological-tourist site in Southern Mexico. Culture and Religion, 11(4), 345–393. https://doi.org/10.1080/14755610.2010.527613

13) Jureniene, V., & Radzevicius, M. (2022). Peculiarities of sustainable cultural development: A case of dark tourism in Lithuania. Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 15(6), 264. https://doi.org/10.3390/jrfm15060264

14) Lavery, J., & Finnegan, N. (2025). Changing configurations of Day of the Dead / Día de Muertos during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico and beyond. Palgrave Macmillan.

15) Lennon, J., & Foley, M. (2000). Dark tourism: The attraction of death and disaster. Continuum.

16) Lidz, F., & Dhaliwal, M. (2024, January 10). What lies beneath the Vatican of the Zapotecs? International New York Times. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A778833024/AONE?u=anon~4a2d6bd5&sid=googleScholar&xid=4fb16959

17) Light, D. (2017). Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 61, 275-301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.01.011

18) Lin, Z., Lin, Z., Zhang, S., & Yhang, W.-J. (2024). Storytelling in dark tourism: The role of flow experience and national identity. SAGE Open, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241257159

19) Lischer, S. K. (2019). Narrating atrocity: Genocide memorials, dark tourism, and the politics of memory. Review of International Studies, 45(5), 805–827. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210519000226

20) Lomnitz, C. (2008). Death and the idea of Mexico. Zone Books.

21) Navarrete Torres, M. del C. (2020, January 6). The fascination of black tourism: New market niche in Mexico. Journal of Tourism and Heritage Research, 3(1), 184-195. Retrieved from https://jthr.es/index.php/journal/article/view/135

22) Oesterreich, M. (2019). The display of the ‘indigenous’ – Collecting and exhibiting ‘indigenous’ artifacts in Mexico, 1920-1940. Artelogie, 13. https://doi.org/10.4000/artelogie.2201

23) Panayidou, C., Christou, P., & Saveriades, A. (2024). Dark tourism development in a leisure destination: The perceptions of the local community in Cyprus. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 19(6), 861–879. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2024.2328721

24) Poria, Y., Butler, R., & Airey, D. (2006). Tourist perceptions of heritage exhibits: A comparative study from Israel. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 1(1), 51–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/17438730608668465

25) Ramírez, J. (2025, January 28). Leyenda: La casa de los lamentos en Guanajuato. El Souvenir. Retrieved from https://elsouvenir.com/leyenda-la-casa-de-los-lamentos-guanajuato/

26) Sánchez-Aguirre, D. P., Alvarado-Sizzo, I., & Moury-Fernandes, B. G. (2024). Intangible cultural heritage versus tourism: Residents’ reactions to temporal overtourism during the Day of the Dead in Mixquic, Mexico. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2024.2415334

27) Santino, J. (2016). Globalized, commodified, and contested: Contemporary festivities in the United States. Revue Française D’études Américaines, 146(1), 89-106. https://doi.org/10.3917/rfea.146.0089

28) Sharpley, R., & Stone, P. R. (Eds.). (2009). The darker side of travel: The theory and practice of dark tourism. Channel View Publications.

29) Shushan, G. (2017). The afterlife in early civilizations. In The Palgrave Handbook of the Afterlife (pp. 21-40).

30) Stone, P. R. (2006). A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre-related tourist sites. Tourism: An International Interdisciplinary Journal, 54(2), 145-160.

31) Virgili, S., Delacour, H., Bornarel, F., & Liarte, S. (2018). From the flames to the light: 100 years of the commodification of the dark tourist site around the Verdun battlefield. Annals of Tourism Research, 68, 61–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2017.11.002