La patrimonialización de la fiesta de la diablada pillareña. Una mirada antropológica

Abstract

As part of a national effort to reclaim the country’s most important living cultural manifestations, the Fiesta de la Diablada Pillareña first appeared in Ecuador’s Official Registry in 2008 where it was recognized as "intangible cultural heritage of the State". Although this was based on the established public policies of the time, the process of its recognition as such has impacted the relations between the community that houses the festivity and the public institutions that surround it. From an ethnographic perspective, in this research I explore the traditional elements and meanings of the Fiesta before and after the recognition. Additionally, I identify the power relations that exist between social actors, and between these and the institutions involved. Furthermore, I analyze how “heritage” is conceived both by the community (including its members, leaders, merchants and characters that participate in the Diablada) as well as the local and national governments (represented by the Autonomous Decentralized Government of Píllaro, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and the National Institute of Cultural Heritage, respectively). Finally, I evaluate the impact of the declaration on the development of the Fiesta’s activities and reflect on issues related to intangible cultural heritage, in general. In short, the hope is that this retrospective analysis of the Fiesta can contribute to the design of possible public policies related to the management of the intangible cultural heritage, especially ones having to do with declarations.