Spiritual Enterprises in Cuzco: Commodification or Coexistence?

     Upon arriving in Cuzco, one of my first impressions consisted of the spiritual undertones present throughout many of the locations. When I say spiritual, I simply mean anything related to religious traditions. More specifically, I have noticed stores lined with Christian artwork right next door to more "shamanic" offerings such as entheogenic ceremonies. Even traces of Eastern spirituality seem to bear their heads from time to time, as I have seen a fair number of yoga studios and Buddhist statues. Furthermore, it is impossible to walk more than 10 minutes in the city without running into a church. Although Peru is officially a Catholic country, I am amazed by the co-existence of such diverse spiritual influences. Cuzco, specifically, seems to have a markedly syncretic approach to religious beliefs. 

    However, sometimes I notice these spiritual offerings can feel overly "New Age" and commercial. While I do not believe that products related to religion---such as art, relics, or services---are inherently unethical, I have noticed that some things appear to be commodified or geared toward the tourists. This reality is likely the case because of the wealth contained within the Cuzco tourism industry and the influx of locals migrating to the city to escape poverty. Contained within the population of tourists appears to be this dichotomy of older individuals and younger "hippies," the latter likely playing into the offerings of "spiritual tourism." For example, some tourists will pay thousands of dollars to go on retreats in Peru, so is it any wonder why the locals try to capitalize on that market? Any sufficiently large tourist destination will inevitably create commercial entities with tourism in mind, and Cuzco is no exception. Doing further research, I discovered how a lot of travel agencies refer to Cuzco as "the world's capital for mysticism." From first-hand experience, I can certainly see how the city caters to the tagline.