Meeting News - October 20, 2008 - (Page 46)

Destination Insider: Yucatan By Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Placido Domingo’s Chichen Itza Concert Embroiled in Controversy Should unique antiquities be backdrop for performances? Itza, which was formally listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. In what was called the Concert of the Thousand Columns, Domingo was the second of the celebrated “Three Tenors” to perform at Chichen Itza; the first, Luciano Pavarotti, performed in 1997 in front of a crowd of 18,000. (Jose Carreras, the third Tenor, has yet to appear.) The concert was a charity performance to raise money for the restoration of the archeological site, which now is stressed by 12,000 annual visitors. But although Domingo’s audience was—by agreement—just a fifth the size of Pavarotti’s, questions have been raised as to whether Chichen, like other sites of antiquity, should continue to serve as concert platforms for popular music acts. Although a popular sound-and-light show held at Chichen Itza still heralds the spring and autumn equinoxes, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) gradually has been limiting public access to the monuments, as well as carefully screening who is allowed to perform inside them. The controversy pitched state and federal offi- cials, contemporary proponents of Maya culture, archaeological activists, and private landowners against each other in a debate over who ultimately had the right to green-light the Domingo concert. Although the INAH has jurisdiction over all pre-Columbian sites, the land on which Chichen Itza sits is privately held by the Barbachano family, which granted permission to the Yucatan state minister of culture Jorge Esma Bazan. Troubles for Tulum Mexican government, hotel owners fight over properties ‘in’ national park In late July, guests at five Tulum boutique hotels were startled by the sight of soldiers from the Mexican Army bearing “cerrado”(“closed”) signs. It was the latest incident in a border dispute between the federal government—which claims that the properties are illegally built within the confines of a national park—and the Tulum Hotel Owners Association, members of which say they own their land titles free and clear. At press time, the hotels are open, pending notice. Meanwhile, a proposed $120 million airport meant to serve the growing Riviera Maya corridor by 2012, has been put on hold, awaiting an upturn in the economy. The airport was to be located near Tulum. Domingo speaks in press conference. Earlier this month, the world-famous tenor Placido Domingo performed live before an international crowd of 4,000 fans. Appearing on stage with him were the soprano Ana Maria Martinez, the Mexican performer Armando Manzanero, the group Monumental Chorus of the Mayab, and the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra. And behind them all: the equally famous, 1,200-year-old El Castillo pyramid of Chichen ‘Ruins’ and Natural Attractions Still Rate High For groups meeting in Cancun and the Riviera Maya, the opportunity to visit the natural places and archaeological ruins still rate high among attendee expectations. Among the most established venues in the area is Xcaret, essentially a Mayan theme park that comprises an archaeological site, eco-park, a dolphin swim, and more. Xcaret has nightly folkloric performances and dinner shows, and can accommodate up to 6,000 in its amphitheater. For Linda Pocina, recently conference director at Austin, TX-based Hart Energy, Xcaret made for a successful venue for a closing-night reception: 46 MeetingNews October 20, 2008 “Drinks, dinner, music, dancing, entertainment . . . everyone was wildly impressed.” Eli Gorin, CMP, of Aventura, FL-based gMeetings Inc., recently held a meeting in Cancun.“For an off-site tour, we did a zip-line and snorkel tour operated by AllTourNative, a Playa del Carmen-based company. Great guides, and my guests really enjoyed their time.” AllTourNative, which is committed to sustainable tourism, offers adventure travel programs such as zip-lining and jungle and cenote (underground river) explorations. It recently branched out into corporate training activities and team-building. AllTourNative’s purification ceremony AllTourNative provides discounts for groups of more than 10; one of its more unusual offerings is a Maya purification ceremony. r www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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