Within the anthropology of tourism, a debate continues over whether turning cultural expressions into consumer goods is harmful. Early anthropologists condemned commercialization and spectacle, but many now argue that no one can determine which expressions are authentic or who has the right to decide. This work proposes that authenticity is not an inherent quality of a cultural trait or phenomenon; instead, it is a social process—a struggle in which conflicting interests try to impose their version of history and claim the right to represent it. Three cases from Peru illustrate such disputes over authenticity: the Raymis, the Fiesta del Carmen in Paucartambo (Cusco), and the Ayahuasca ritual.
A methodological proposal called ethnofenomenological praxis integrates cognitive science with anthropology, ethnobotany, and radical participation to study cognition as a diffuse, permeable phenomenon beyond neural or electronic processing. The approach emphasizes direct experiential exploration of non-ordinary states of consciousness, arguing that understanding cognition requires a phenomenological base. Through literature analysis and discussion, the article presents a radical empiricism grounded in such exploration and calls for a community of practice to generate a new symbolic and relational framework for studying consciousness.