Good Hosts as Ideal Citizens: Crafting Identity onIsla de Mujeres

The main message described in the following pages isthe conscious, intentional political project byMexican government and tourism officials to promotean ideology of cultural citizenship that encompassesthe notion of a clean and tidy citizen as a good hostfor tourists that visit Isla de Mujeres a smallisland located in the Mexican Caribbean. Thepromotion of cleanliness at the national, regional,and local levels by Mexican government officials andagencies translates into marketing campaigns such assigns and murals designed for Isleños eyes only. What is underlined in the commentary of Isleños isthe racialization of cleanliness based on an ideologyof a biological lineage having to do with a purity ofblood or limpieza de sangre -cleanliness of blood-brought to New Spain/Mexico by Spanishconquistadores. The promotion of cleanliness at thenational, regional, and local levels by Mexicangovernment officials and agencies translates intomarketing campaigns such as television and radiocommercials, signs, murals, school curriculum, andextracurricular activities such as communityorganizations geared toward children.