La fiesta del Corpus Christi en Hinojosidentidad, turismo y patrimonio cultural

Abstract

The main theme of this research focuses on the study of the processes of making heritage of intangible cultural assets in Andalusia. This is achieved by means of a case study, the making heritage process of the Corpus Christi festival in Hinojos (Huelva) as an Asset of Cultural Interest, in the category of Activity of Ethnological Interest. A priori, these institutional heritage processes are considered to be aimed at protecting and safeguarding cultural manifestations. However, it is often observed that they are activated for other purposes (political, economic and symbolic). In this doctoral thesis we propose to understand the complexity of making heritage from a local level and its interrelation with the global one. To this end, we study the process of heritage activation with qualitative methodology and ethnographic research. This case study was selected because of its special interest from an analytical point of view. The background to the making heritage process was its declaration of Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia, which was not granted. The concurrence of the declaration of Tourist Interest in Andalusia and its later classification as an Asset of Cultural Interest made the case study particularly interesting as an example of heritage activation based on an alleged tourist interest. This ethnography of the making heritage process provides an in-depth study of the community of Hinojos (Huelva), as well as an exhaustive description of the festival in all its dimensions (historical, social, aesthetic and symbolic). The study of the heritage making processes is based on an analysis of the tourism problems of the locality in the Doñana region, taking account of the framework of territorial policies and the protection of nature in the Doñana National Park. The tourist initiatives and the proposal for the declaration of Festival of Tourist Interest in Andalusia are studied establishing a cause and effect relationship between the first failed proposal declaration, and its later recognition as an Asset of Cultural Interest. Both administrative procedures are described and analysed, having regard to the effects on the object and the subjects of the heritage. The results of the study show that the certification of heritage as an Asset of Cultural Interest is used to obtain a differential brand value that provides political legitimacy and identity in the Doñana region.