Overview

During the enhancement of the audiovisual heritage of the Embassy of Mexico in Argentina we found promotional tourist material in different media. I chose some 16mm film titles published 1968–72. At that time, the National Tourism Office commissioned and distributed these short films emphasizing modernity and comfort in contrast to the exotic and almost pristine nature of our tourist destinations. This new wave of mass tourism to underdeveloped countries, which would become one of the main sources of income for Mexico and the Caribbean, was what the Cuban historian Manuel Moreno Fraginals called “the fourth plantation,” alluding to economic practices of monoculture and neocolonialism. This is a compilation of the most interesting moments to review the speeches of that time.