Mazatlán has been named a world-wide candidate for UNESCO’s Creative Cities Designation in Gastronomy.
Officials from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, said the announcement of the winner will be made in October 2019 at the UNESCO Creative Cities Network Annual Meeting in Fabriano, Italy.
Mexico already has six cities that have achieved UNESCO’s Creative City Designation – Mexico City and Puebla for Design; San Cristóbal de las Casas for Crafts and Folk Art; Guadalajara for Media Arts; Morelia for Music and Ensenada for Gastronomy.
“We are very honored to have been chosen a finalist for UNESCO’s Creative Cities Designation in Gastronomy,” said Marco Garcia Castro, Secretary of Tourism for the State. “With over 300 great places to eat in Mazatlán and its surrounding communities, we have become a ‘Foodies’ nirvana, offering everything from spectacular Mexican fare to exotic international flavors inspired by Mazatlán’s French, Italian and German influence.”
UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network was created in 2004 to promote cooperation with and among cities that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development.
The 180 cities in 72 countries which currently make up this network, work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.
Mazatlán, a Mexican resort town along the Pacific Ocean, was founded in 1571 and boasts a Historic District. Its 19th-century landmarks include the performance hall Teatro Ángela Peralta and the towering Immaculate Conception Basilica.
Sandy beaches line its four-mile-long malecón (boardwalk), the newly developed Nuevo Mazatlán area where two marinas and two professional golf courses sit, and the modern district of Zona Dorada which is known for nightlife and hotels.
Direct air service is available to Mazatlán from major U.S. and Canada markets.
