Ricardo Agurcia - The American University of Rome

interviewRicardo Agurciaabove The Rosalila structureat Copán, Honduras.How Copán is leading the wayThe enormous wealth generated by the tourist industry is placing increasingdemands on our cultural heritage. Richard Hodges chats with Ricardo Agurcia,director of excavations at the ancient Maya site in Honduras, where one of theworld’s poorest countries is successfully balancing archaeology with tourism.Ricardo Agurcia, founder and drivingforce behind the Copán Association inHonduras, which is revolutionising care,conservation, and promotion of heritage.The world is falling apart andyet this year will see a neweconomic growth record:one billion tourists will betraipsing around the globe.Tourism in this era of financial dismayis growing at about 4%, according to theWorld Tourist Organisation (UNWTO),driven by the accelerating taste forcultural heritage. Visiting world heritagecities and sites has become increasinglyimportant in the East, as it had alreadybecome in the West, notwithstandingour common economic woes.Paradoxically, this most conservative ofindustries is a lifeline to many countries,both rich and poor. Revenues fromtourism in all its varied forms oftenamount to as much as 20% ofMediterranean and Mesoamericancountries’ GDP. Management of thislucrative modern industry, though,lacks the iAge touch. It is mysteriouslyserendipitous, largely becausegovernments have failed to grasp theeconomic values of cultural strategies.Most countries live with their past as aprivileged leisure asset, as opposed toan asset to be managed and carefullyexploited for a digital ‘flat world’.The result is that most countries have leftthis economic driver in the hands of poorly48 CurrentWorldArchaeologyIssue 55

interviewmexicoguatemala▲ HondurasCopánnicaraguapaid state bureaucrats and narrowly trainedarchaeologists, failing to exploit wisely thisimmense global asset. Can you imaginethe oil and gas industry managed withsuch indifference? Managing our culturalresources in the highly competitive tourismmarketplace demands creative businessskills as well as a modern comprehension ofcultural values. Rarely do the two skillsetsgo together. How many archaeologistsare trained in basic business practice?How many site managers worldwide havebeen trained in modern archaeologicaland conservation methods? One obviousexception is to be found in Honduras.HondurasHonduras, one of the world’s poorestcountries, is in one respect also a worldleader.Troubled today by drug-runningbands, as the New York Times reminds uson a weekly basis, it nevertheless possessesthe great Maya capital of Copán, close tothe Guatemalan border (see CWA 30 and50). This UNESCO World Heritage Site,inscribed in 1980, is quintessentially whata world-class site should be: awe-inspiringarchaeology in an unforgettable location.Its success in a country that has knowndemocracy for only 30 years is largely downto the Copán Association, the far-sightedHonduran NGO that has been its unstintinglocal champion since it was formed inOctober 1989. Thanks to this Foundation,through well-managed tourism, thepast, so to speak, is successfully makingemployment for many in western Honduras.The driving force behind the Foundationis Ricardo Agurcia Fasquelle, an eloquentand charismatic American-trainedHonduran archaeologist. He is a true21st-century placemaker of the kindneeded by a world eager to pair bestpractice in archaeology and management.Before I recount my recent conversationwith Ricardo in the Penn Museum on theoccasion of the opening of its blockbuster,Maya 2012: Lords of Time, let me brieflyremind readers about Copán and Ricardo’sremarkable excavations.above Helping to lead the way: the magnificentHieroglyphic Stairway at Copán.above The main square at Copán Ruinas in Honduras.Copán’s tunnelsThe Maya capital of Copán is essentiallya monumental civic centre arrangedaround a plaza and attached ballcourt,surrounded by the compounds of itsaristocrats. The towering acropolis on oneside of the plaza is a pyramid that, like awww.world-archaeology.com CurrentWorldArchaeology 49

interviewYax K’uk’ Mo’, the spiritual founder ofthe Copán dynasty. Its second level,dominated by burlesque masks of amonster, pays tribute to the birthplaceof maize. Winding around the darkenedchambers, the tunnel arrives at theuppermost level where a smokingskull symbolises an incense burner.This spectacular sacred monument isreconstructed in all its vivid colours asthe centrepiece of the Sculpture Museumcreated by Ricardo and his colleagues atthe entrance to the park.Few excavations have made such adeep impression upon me: the skilfullogic of the enquiry was rewarded with apeerless discovery, both majestic in formand accompanied by spectacular ritualobjects, some of which are currently onshow in the Penn Museum.above Advisory board for the current Pennexhibition Maya 2012: Lords of Time.These great excavations, publicisedby National Geographic in the 1990s,prompted the interest of thousands oftourists – about 140,000 make the longjourney here each year. Revenue fromthese numbers in turn helped theCopán Association to protect andpresent the archaeological site. Asa result, the glades are meticulouslymaintained by a cohort of 60 or soworkmen. An added attraction isthe scarlet macaws that bring anunexpected flash of colour andraucous noise to the place.A better placeRicardo is a rare breed: a genuine fieldarchaeologist who knows his sculptureand glyphs as well as the rudiments ofsite conservation; at the same time, hehas skilfully interfaced with programmeofficers at the World Bank, as well asother banks and agencies, offering themguarantees about completed projectswhich mean they will part with bigRH: How did the Copán Foundation start?RA: [Professor] Bill Fash [of Harvard University] and I were working onprojects at Copán for about 10-11 years. Every four years the Instituteof Anthropology would change director and with it came a new set ofrules. The government was whimsical, especially where conservation wasconcerned. There was no sustainability. So in 1989 we decided to create anon-profit [charity] – in the American style – with a stellar board of directors.The chairman was Jorge Bueso Arias, a one-time presidential candidate,whose family had established a great legacy in Western Honduras. Hewas also the president of the largest bank in this part of the country. TheAssociation now has an operating budget of about 2 million lempiras,about $100,000 per annum.For 22 years we’ve won foreign loans and our collaboration with USAID,which began with the Acropolis Project, continues today. We have hadsupport from the World Bank and the IDB [Inter-American DevelopmentBank] largely to support tourist infrastructure projects.These people have the money and can seethat Copán, apart from the Bay Islands andthe North Coastline, is the biggest touristattraction. The World Bank, in particular,wants to encourage sustainable tourism.Four million invested wisely is not a lotto the World Bank. Their project officershave become good friends. They love ourprojects and our publications.Perhaps the bigger story is, thanksto the Foundation’s board members,a number of businesses in Hondurashave given funds. Their support isreally very important.Of course, the IHAH gets jealous!With every new administration[government] there are new officials,above Copán’s UNESCO World Heritage plaque.so it’s needed real tenacity to deal with them and their envy for ourfunds. Bill Fash has the right face for this. He’s been incredibly tenaciousat working with each new IHAH administration, and at the same time hehas been very professional working with USAID.RH: Do the IHAH get upset? Usually, government agencies are verybureaucratic and bent upon rules.RA: I have good political connections. It’s a small country. Most of thepeople I was at high school with have ended up as public figures. Manyof these have been family friends. This has been important. The mid-1990swere a difficult time. The Institute tried to shut us down. It was touch andgo. In fact, private-sector support kept the Foundation alive. The gift shopat Copán was for a while the only source of our operating costs. The IHAHrealised this and closed it down. But governments only last four years inHonduras. We waited out the cycle and the IHAH officials were gone,so we reopened the shop.RH: Tell me about the projects that have beenfunded by the Foundation.RA: The Acropolis Project was largely financedby USAID. They gave the all-important seedmoney after the government gave the OKfor a debt conversion of $500,000, which theCopán Foundation had to match over fiveyears. It came as government bonds and,of course, in 1990 it was a lot of money.The river had cut the far side ofthe acropolis [making it dangerouslyunstable] and this represented thebiggest conservation challenge. Sowe realised that concentrating theproject here could have great longtermimplications.www.world-archaeology.com CurrentWorldArchaeology 51