UNESCO is an international organization created in 1945 with the aim of protecting the world's cultural and natural heritage, as well as promoting understanding, tolerance, and peace. UNESCO has a program of recognition of World Heritage that applies to special sites that are considered valuable to humanity. For a place to have this recognition, it must meet some very important requirements:
- The first requirement is that the site has exceptional universal value. This means that it must have significant meaning for humanity in general, not just for a specific culture or country. The site can be a monument, a natural landscape, a city, or an entire region.
- The second requirement is that the site has integrity. This means that the site must be complete and in good condition, and must not have been significantly altered or deteriorated. Additionally, the site must be in a location that protects and preserves it.
- The third requirement is that the site has authenticity. This means that the site must be genuine and not have been altered or modified in an attempt to make it more attractive.
In Mexico, there are 35 sites and 7 intangible traditions that are UNESCO World Heritage, including the Historic Center of Mexico City, the pre-Hispanic city of Chichen-Itza, the landscape of agaves in Tequila, and the Historic Center of Morelia. Mexico is one of the countries with the most sites recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO not only in Latin America but also in the rest of the world.
