The performance of identity. A comparative perspective on three contemporary (folk) festivals in Portugal, Spain, and Brazil.

My presentation focuses three annual folk festivals on which I have been conducting field- and documentary research over the past three years: (Slide /zoom) the Festa do Divino (Holy Ghost Festival) in Pirenpolis (state of Gois, center west Brazil); (Slide/zoom) the Festa da Bugiada in Sobrado (Northern Portugal); (Slide /zoom) and the Festa de Moros I Cristians in Beneixama (Alicante province, southern-Spain). The element linking the three festivals is the performance of a sequence of mock battles between two rival armies: the invading Moors on one side, and the Christians that defend their territory from the invaders on the other. These mock battles follow a predefined script divided in three phases: the first being the attack on and initial victory of the Moors over the Christians; followed by the counter attack and ultimate victory of the Christians over the Moors; and third, the rendition and/or conversion of the latter to the Christian faith. The festivals are composed of many more ritual and profane elements, such as processions, social critique, travesty acts, carnivalesque parades, etc. but the mock battles are the element most referred to in local discourses on cultural identity and heritage. Analysing my data on each festival, it felt it was necessary to distinguish the various social actors involved in the festivals, operating at different although sometimes overlapping levels, with regard to their definition and expression of notions of identity, community and heritage. Drawing on insights by Hill and Wilson (2003:2; 2004:2), I distinguish between identity politics and politics of identity. Identity politics is a top-down process used by political, economic and other social entities, with the purpose of shaping collective identities on the basis of ethnicity, race, and/or language, and to place these identities into relatively fixed and naturalized (essentialized) frames in order to achieve political ends. Identity politics thus defined, expresses itself through the discourse and action of formal institutions such as, governments, parties, and corporate institutions. Its aim is the articulation, construction, invention, folklorization and commoditization of culture and identity within the public sphere of politics and civil society. Politics of identity on the other hand, refer to a bottom-up process, taking place in the everyday life of individuals and communities. Here, local people, acting within a framework of social and

political institutions and collectives, choose or are forced to interact with each other on the basis of shared or divergent notions of identity. This process, expressed through the negotiation of culture, power and identity aims at the creation of meaning, the affirmation of identity, or at economic survival. It can but does not necessarily coincide with identity politics. Additionally, I distinguish the level of strategies pertaining to individual personal identity, expressed, conscious- or unconsciously in choices people make in daily life, and which may, or not, coincide with the politics of identity at the organizational level and/or with the identity politics of the local administrative level. For the sake of brevity and argument, my presentation focuses on the politics of identity, that is, the role and politics of the organizing bodies in each festival - referring where relevant, to the other levels. Case 1 The Festa da Bugiada (SLIDE / film fragment)

Sobrado is a small town of some 7.000 inhabitants, at 17 km from the city of Porto. The Festa da Bugiada is a one-day event, celebrated on St. Johns day, the 24 of June, with a variety of acts, varying from religious processions to sketches of social critique and parodies of agrarian rites. The highlight of the day is the performance of a local legend about the robbery of the patron saints statue, St. John, by a band of neighbouring Moors - the Mourisqueiros, and the rescue of the same by the local Bugios. The festival is co-organized by the local cultural association, Casa do Bugio, and the parish council. According to Antnio Pinto, president of the association since 2006, the Casa do Bugio was created in 2004, following a period of chaos and anarchy, with abuse of power and influence by former members of the board. Because of their prominence in the production and promotion of the festival, the Pinto family by some is seen as having too much influence on the festival. (SLIDE) In their textiles shop turned tailors workplace, Antnio Pinto and his wife Margarida produce and sell a major part of the costumes worn by the Bugios, and some of the Mourisqueiros, during the three months preceding the festival. Antonios brother, Manuel - a journalist and university teacher - and board member of the association, runs a weblog with historical accounts and new about the association. From its beginning, in 2004, the blog has

become an influential means of communication about the festival. Antnios daughter, Fbia, member of the festival committee for 2010, recently created a Facebook page for friends of the Bugiada. To date, the page has gathered a following of some 1500 friends. Following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather - a passionate Mourisqueiro between his 15 and 23 both Antnio and Fbia are former Bugios. Criticism from a part of the towns inhabitants concerns the way the association handles the increasing interest in the festival from outsider participants, visitors and policy makers. The increasing number of participants from outside Sobrado poses logistical problems and has raised issues of authenticity among some sobradenses. Two central groups of Bugios and Mourisqueiros, numbering between 24 to 40 male sobradenses, perform the principal acts taking placing during the day. The number of participants not pertaining to the central group is growing each year, amounting in 2010 to an estimated 600. This group consists of men, women and children of all ages, partly from Sobrado but many also from neighbouring villages and towns. They rent a costume for the day; pay a fee to the Association, which entitles them to the communal breakfast served in the associations headquarters, and participation in the opening parade. To deal with the situation, the Association elaborated a code of conduct, which every participant is supposed to follow. Even so, the presence of outsiders among the Bugios is seen by some sobradenses as undermining the authentic character of the festival. To accommodate the increase in visitors, a part of the town is closed off during the festival, and buses, paid for by the parish council, transport spectators from parking lots on the outskirts to the center of the town. Local residents who live in the closed-off area can apply for a free transit pass distributed by the Association. This measure has created quite a bit of animosity among residents who dont want to participate in the festival, or feel that they are entitled to more than one transit-pass. The allocation of the more prominent roles in the celebration has also caused friction in the community. The Mourisqueiros - formerly bachelor sons of wealthy land owners, and nowadays still formed by unmarried young men from the village - choose their leader, the Reimoeiro, among their members. The role of Velho, head of the Bugios, however, in the past was chosen by the Juiz da Festa, as head of the festival committee - usually a wealthy and influential

Sobradense. Nowadays, the Velho is chosen by vote by a committee consisting of the men that played the role in the past. The Association adopted this measure to put a stop to the manipulation by some of the wealthier and influential members of the population who tried to enforce the choice of a particular candidate for the role of Velho. The Association Casa do Bugio is also responsible for the organization of a fair (SLIDE), which takes place simultaneously on a plot of land belonging to the parish church. It is lent to the Association free of charge during the festival. The rent obtained from the fairground attractions pays for part of the festival-expenses. However, in 2010, the parish priest, siding with disgruntled former board members, decided to charge rent for the use of the land, causing a financial gap in the Associations budget. The financial setback was compensated by a large donation made by an expatriate Sobradense - emigrated to Brazil, who thus fulfilled a promise he had made to S. Joo.

The Festa da Bugiada has remained relatively unknown outside of Sobrado and its immediate surroundings, although participants dressed in Bugio and Mourisqueiro costume performed in theatre festivals in Porto, and in programs on the national television channel, RTP from as early as the 1960s. The famous St. John celebrations in the nearby city of Porto kept potential visitors from further afield away. However, things are changing, due to the diligent work of the new administration of the Casa do Bugio over the past years, and in particular the input from the Pinto family. The current Associations official policy is to safeguard the genuine character of the celebration by restricting its performance to the traditional context of the village. But the pressure on the festival is increasing. In 2010, a delegation of the Association participated in an international encounter of Festivals of Moors and Christians, held in Ontinyent (Spain). In the same year, the Casa do Bugio joined the Iberian Network of Traditional Masks, an initiative promoted by Progestur, an association dedicated to the merchandising of the most genuine and authentic of Portuguese cultural identity. The city of Valongo, to which the parish of Sobrado pertains, also participates in the Iberian network. In 2010, Valongos right-wing city council increased the annual subsidy for the festival from 8.000 to 10.000. The left-wing opposition party, awakened to the cultural and political value of the festival, coincidentally proposed the candidacy of the festival for the UNESCO Immaterial Heritage list.

Case 2 The Festa do Divino and the Cavalhadas

Pirenpolis is a city of some 25.000 inhabitants in the southwestern state of Gois, Brazil. The Festa do Divino, or Holy Ghost festival, held at Pentecost, thanks its fame mainly to a three-day spectacle in the form of a mediaeval tournament, known as the Cavalhadas, in which 24 horsemen, representing Moors and Christians, symbolically recreate the battle of Charlemagne against the Turks. Until the 1970s, the Cavalhadas took place only if there were enough candidates for the role of knight, and if the Imperador of the festival was willing to pay for their performance. Following the intervention of Goiastur, the state-run organization for tourism, the Cavalhadas started to be performed on a more regular basis from the 1970s onwards, and are currently the major attraction in the Festa do Divino. Since 2004, the knights of the Cavalhadas, have been organized in the cultural association Instituto Cultural Cavalhadas(Lima::120), created to guarantee the continuation of the tradition, and to create a legal status so the group could apply for funding from the Gois state government. Nowadays, considered an enhancement of ones social standing, there is a long waiting list of candidates for the position of knight in the Cavalhadas. Being a knight comes with a price, though. Knights do not necessarily have to belong to the upper class of Pirenopolino society many of the horseman are in fact middle-class - or be financially well off, but being a man of means certainly helps. The annual cost for the knights costume and the animals attire can easily surpass 5000 reais (2000 euros), which is not covered by the mere 1500 real (650 euros) subsidy each rider receives out of the state funding. According to Antnio Machado, who plays the part of Rei Mouro, (SLIDE), to become a knight you have to be meio roceiro, like horses, ride well andyou have to fit in, meaning you have to be a Pirenopolino and have family ties to the celebration, and although not necessarily a Catholic, you have to be a devotee of the Divine. Together with Adil, who plays the role of Rei Cristo, and their two embaixadores, Antnio decides who enters the select group of knights. Now sixty years old, Antnio, known as Toninho da Babilnia, has been Rei Mouro for the past 30 years. Both he and his wife are from old traditional pirenopolino stock, owning several large estates, amongst which Fazenda Babilnia, the oldest sugarcane plantation in Gois, now turned museum and run by Toninhos wife, Selma. Toninhos position contrasts rather starkly with that

of some younger members of the group, such as Jlio who joined four years ago as cerra fila, the lowliest position among the riders. (SLIDE) Julio and his family have a hard time paying for all the expenses entailed in knighthood: arranging a horse that is considered up to standard, the upkeep of the animal which has to be stabled and fed throughout the year, the knights costume and the accoutrements that adorn the horse, both of which become more lavish every year. Lacking a horse of his own, Julio almost gave it up this year, but at Easter - when the knights officially renew their oath to ride in the Cavalhadas, he decided to continue anyway, on a horse lent to him by friends. For people like Toninho, knighthood comes with the territory, so to speak, for financially less well off people like Jlio it is markedly more difficult to keep up.

In the course of the last decades, the knights of the Cavalhadas have become the calling card of the state and citys identity politics. Under the guidance of Pompeu Cristvam de Pina, (SLIDE) member of one of the most prominent old families in the city, they have helped putting Pirenpolis on the map of tourist destinations: by posing for photographs sold as postcards (SLIDE); by performing a mock version of the Cavalhadas during the shooting of the popular Brazilian telenovela Estrela-Guia (SLIDE); and by performing some of the Cavalhadas equestrian figures during a Brazilian Week in France. Pompeu de Pina, former Municipal Secretary of Culture and Tourism, was also involved in the construction of the Cavalhdromo, the arena where the Cavalhadas nowadays take place. (SLIDE). This multifunctional building, emblematic of the states identity politics, was built in 2004 with funding from state governor Marconi Perelli - whose wife is the daughter of a traditional Pirenopolino family - and overseen by the Goiania Cultural Agency headed by Pompeu de Pina. A considerable number of Pirenopolinos voted for the governor in successive federal elections, which resulted in special benefits for the town in the form of state investments. Many inhabitants, however, consider the Cavalhdromo an attack on the genuine character of their Cavalhadas, and a dubious intervention from above, an expression of the governors political ambition2 and Pompeu de Pinas notorious interference. Up until 2009, state funding paid for the daily farofadas, the meals served to the knights during the two weeks of rehearsals preceding the Cavalhadas. In the past, these meals were a more private affair, served in family homes, and attended mainly by the horsemen and their families.

Now the farofadas have become public gatherings, open to members of the community and visitors alike, with 200 to 300 people attending. This makes them a costly affair for the participating restaurants, but it also brings them prestige, and they compete with one another for the privilege of providing the meals. In 2008, the Festa do Divino was inventoried and documented by a team of researchers under the guidance of the IPHAN, Brazils national heritage institution. IPHANs meticulous visual and written documentation of all facets of the festival, resulted, in 2010, in the proclamation of the festival as Immaterial Cultural Heritage of Brazil. According to an IPHAN spokesperson at the time, The festival () is an all encompassing social event () which is rooted in the daily life of the towns inhabitants, determining the patterns of local social life, and () a fundamental element of the cultural identity of the town.

Case 3 The Festa de Moros i Cristians

Beneixama is a village of some 1,800 inhabitants in the province of Alicante within the Comunitat Valenciana, or, as many inhabitants prefer to say el Pas Valenciano, stressing their onetime political independence from the rest of Spain. The Festa de Moros i Cristians, is held in September in honour of the villages patron saint La Divina Aurora. Main protagonists in the festival are four cultural associations, called comparsas, which, together with the town council represented by the Consejal de la Fiesta, and representatives of the local church form the festivals organizing committee. The four comparsas together contribute to the celebration with a total number of around 700 participants. (Membership for the comparsas varies between 80 for the smallest one, that of the Labradores, and 254 for the largest, the Estudiantes. The Moors and Christians comparsas have around 170 members each) The comparsas of the Moors and Christians nowadays are mixed in terms of social class, but in the past their members came mainly from families belonging to the rural and industrial bourgeoisie. Some inhabitants of Beneixama consider these two comparsas, which date back to the last decades of the 19th century, as the only historically authentic, with regard to the purported raison dtre of the festival: the re-enactment of the Christian reconquista of Valencia.

Consisting of tight-knit families with a link to agriculture, the so-called socialist comparsa of the Labradores was formed in 1971, its genesis and history a clear reference to Valencias strained relationship with Madrid, especially during the Franco era, and to the social stratification of Valenciano society. The comparsa of the Estudiantes, formed in 1924, is currently the fastest growing association. According to Mar Cordon, one of my informants, they have a more liberal take on the celebration, and are more fun. All four comparsas participate in the opening parade on the first day of the festival, and in the processions, but the Moors and Christian comparsas are main protagonists in the three- day performance depicting the reconquista, which is still proclaimed in the exact verses as were written by their local author, Pastor Aycart, in the 19th century. According to Mar Cordon, some young people consider these so called Embaixadas out-dated - just as they feel that the burning of the effigy called La Mahoma at the end of the performance, is politically incorrect. But the people in charge of the festival are intransigent, referring to the necessity of preserving local tradition. To accommodate the younger generations desire for change and modern entertainment, the festival now incorporates night-time carnival parades, followed by open-air disco. The seriousness of the Embaixadas is counterbalanced on the last day, when members of the comparsa de los Estudiantes perform a parody of the reconquista, complete with the burning of the effigy of La Mahoma - which in 2009 was fashioned to a likeness of Michael Jackson. The comparsa of Labradores has its own day in Mai, in honor of St Isidro, patron of agricultural workers, labourers, and livestock. This day was instituted under Franco, when farm labourers and small landowners in Valencia were forced to relinquish their own patron saint Abdon I Senent for the Castilian Saint Isidro, patron saint of Madrid.

Each comparsa has its own identifying symbols: a costume in the comparsa colours, flags, music, and headquarters. (SLIDE). In return for their fees, the members of the comparsa have the right to join in the parades in the esquire of their choice, wearing the standard outfit. More elaborate costumes, worn during the opening parade and processions, members have to pay separately. This can be a costly affair, since the price of a custom made costume can be as much as six thousand euros. The capit and his family, and the abanderado, the bearer of the flag, who represent the comparsa during the festival, wear such elaborate costumes.

In Beneixama, the capitania is determined by rote, falling to each of the members in alphabetical order. If the person chosen does not want, or is unable to take on the responsibility, the member next in line can take over. Generally, the more well to do families hold the capitania, which obliges them to serve as host for the members of the comparsa on some days of the festival, and to attend all of the official acts in full dress. In spite of the cost, the capitania is coveted for the social visibility and prestige it confers. Since the 1950s, the number of festivals of Moors and Christians in the Comunitat Valenciana, has increased from about thirty to almost two hundred celebrations (Alcaraz i Santonja 2006:37). This has been accompanied by the exponential growth of an industry in materials and services related to the festival; Seamstresses, designers, wig makers, makeup artists, choreographers, musicians and composers, metal craftsmen, fire arms suppliers, etcetera, work throughout the year to satisfy the orders of demanding clients (Alcaraz i Santonja 2006:10). (SLIDE) Mar Cordon currently lives in Valencia, but spent a large part of her childhood in the village, growing up in a family of festers. For this years celebration, she and her esquadra friends rented a special outfit worth 350, - which they wore during the opening parade, the Entradas and the processions.

Delegations of Beneixama comparsas occasionally attend other festivals of Moors and Christians, and participate in congresses of Moors and Christians organized by the UNDEF (La Unin Nacional De Entidades Festeros), the most important organization dedicated to the promotion of the Festas de Moros I Cristianos at regional and national level. However, the festival in Beneixama does not attract many visitors from outside, apart from relatives visiting from Valencia, Alicante, B. or Madrid. Moors and Christian celebrations in nearby towns and cities, such as Banyeres, Biar, and Ontinyent with their real castles, and those of Alcoi and Villena with their much more numerous comparsas, take place in an architectonically more appealing scenario and offer visitors a more sumptuous spectacle.

Conclusion An analysis, in terms of the individuals, associations and local authorities involved in the festival addressed here and the identity strategies / politics the same bring to bear on these celebrations, raises questions about the meaning and validity of identity, community, and heritage as theoretical concepts for Anthropology as a discipline, and as analytical tools for ethnographic practice. The notion of a homogenous community, with a single, united view of what constitutes its identity and its heritage, of which the festival would be its tangible expression, is not tenable in the cases I have addressed here. In each of the three festival succinctly presented above, the collected data indicate the importance of local elites in the organization, maintenance and promotion of the performance. The festivals provide these individuals and groups with ample opportunity for the acquisition of personal prestige and the assertion and bettering of their social and political status. This begs the question up to what point it is correct to entitle these celebrations as folk festivals, since this terminology seems to gloss over and obscure the power relations and games of influence taking place under the hood of the glossy festival exterior. In order to understand the meaning of these festivals in their contemporary context, and to grasp where the attraction lies for both individual participants and institutional promoters, it is essential, in the analysis of these celebrations, to distinguish between the individual and the institutional level, and between the organizational (associative), and the local / regional political level, as I have tried to show in my presentation. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the saying goes. We might say the same about notions of identity, community and heritage with regard to these festivals, which get their meaning from the way they are defined by the individuals that participate in them, by the cultural associations and other social groups that organize them, and by the local / regional political powers that finance and promote them.