15

This article offers an exploration of the articulation between the discursive staging of the community in the context of cultural tourism in Guatemala, and the political strategies of the local stakeholders who position themselves as “spokespersons”. The analysis is rooted in long-term ethnographic fieldwork among a rural community of ex-guerilla coffee farmers. The tour, as a space for expression, has a central role in the economic sustainability of the community and its symbolic cohesion. It reflects the relations of power between its members : some are vested with the task of representing the community while others remain silent. As it is, the tour “spokespersons” also hold local elective offices and serve as “development brokers”. The tour narration is key in establishing the continuity of the community’s history shaped by dramatic events. It is a central element of identity politics and legitimisation of belonging to a group that has existed for no more than a decade.