Rituales festivo-religiosos y turismoentre el rezo y el espectáculo

Résumé

The practice of the catholic religion in Andalusia is characterized by its manifestations festive-rituals of great expressiveness and social and cultural relevance. Among them, we can distinguish by the diffusion that they are taking, the Holy Week, fundamentally in the Seville and Malaga cities, and some pilgrimages such as the Virgen del Rocío in Almonte or of the Virgen de la Cabeza in Andújar. The current mass media and the tourist industry have contributed to disseminate knowledge of these manifestations or expressions outside the local limits so that they have become centers of attraction of devotees and/or tourists. This causes that the ritual to be transformed for “to be contemplated” from the eyes of the otherness, producing a spectacle and performative authenticity for tourism. This paper rethinks the festive-rituals as an object of study and confirms its special value for understanding the cultural dynamics in local contexts. I analyze the compatibility between pilgrims and tourists, devotees and spectators, believers and visitors, supporting my arguments with examples from Andalusian religious festive-rituals