Culprit of commodification?

Mexico is a culprit of commodifying their culture and traditions to some extent. The indigenous tribes, especially, make handicrafts items for a living and sell them to government sponsored events. It is obvious that the people who would appreciate these cultural items would be the cultural tourists. There are many forms of art that the indigenous people engage in which is not evident in other parts of the world. Therefore, seeing this as an advantage for the people, commodifying is supported to allow these people to earn more income.

For example, pottery or textile art is sold at the markets or roadside stalls. Some tourists may buy it as a form of a souvenir or they may even treat it as a form of art. This would mean that it is commodifying the product as the culture behind it is reduced to becoming a symbol of purchase.

However, most of their traditions like bull fighting or the festivals are kept to the orginal dates. This preserves the authenticity of the festivals. It is unlike some rural areas in China where they perform the dances everyday. Therefore, the evidence of commodification of their culture is present to a small extent.

I believe that every country that supports tourism in their country would be guilty of commodifying their culture as it is a way of generating another form of revenue through merchandising and indirect promotion of their country. A souvenir brought back to the tourists’ home country would allow them to share their experience or memory of the location they visited. Therefore, commodification would be inevitable.