Cultural Values

Identity

Identity is what makes us different, defines us and makes us feel at home. Conservation of local culture is vital for the development and welfare of communities; especially for those interested in working with tourism because it allows them to differentiate themselves from other destinations and add value to the natural attractions.

Some features of the Iberá culture are still well alive, while others are in real danger of extinction. Strategies to stop this process and restore these cultural aspects must be put in place urgently.

These strategies should ideally be agreed upon between the government, NGOs and private companies; seeking the support of communities as primary guardians of their heritage. It is not about being against the natural evolution of culture, but to be fully aware of the values implicit in it and to design strategies that allow an adaptation of these societies to the modern world while retaining their identity and beauty.

It is very important to strengthen the global awareness that, to consume what is locally produced, whether these are tangible or intangible assets, has a beneficial impact on local communities. Not only do these benefits translate into economic goods but also in the survival of traditions and customs such as music, dance, food, crafts and architecture.

Present and future generations should be shown how important it is to respect and appreciate the guardians of knowledge and the promoters of culture, such as musicians, poets and artisans.

In spite of the fact that mass media can represent an advantage in many aspects, it can also threaten local culture since fashions and trends are quickly adopted from other places with little in common with Iberá, replacing the cultural niche previously occupied by local expressions.

Local fragmentation between man-nature-culture is becoming evident in various areas of everyday life: the lack of trees in the towns or the replacement of native species by exotic ones; the change in the landscape where a distant horizon is replaced by a fence of forestation; the vanishing of the vegetable gardens and the onset of fast-food type menus displacing the local cuisine, the stretchy jeans taking the place of skirts, and “tongue and groove” paneling or timber industry discards supplanting mud or reeds as building materials.