La Villa de las Tres Cuturas: A Study of a New Tourist Festival in Frigiliana, al-Ándalus Robert Power PhD National University of Ireland, Maynooth Faculty of Social Sciences: Department of Anthropology Faculty of Arts, Celtic Studies & Philosophy: Department of Spanish October 2013 Head of Department of Anthropology: Dr Mark Maguire Head of Department of Spanish: Dr Catherine Leen Supervisors Dr. Chandana Mathur Dr Catherine O’Leary Table of Contents Acknowledgement ....................................................................................................... i Abstract ii Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 0.1 The Recuperation of Historical Memory ............................................................... 8 0.2 The “Idea” of Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas ........................................................ 14 0.3 The Origins of Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas ...................................................... 16 0.4 Subverting the Dominant Narrative during Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas ....................................................................................................... 19 0.5 Commercial Tourism and Ethnicity ..................................................................... 21 0.6 Thesis Questions .................................................................................................. 23 0.7 Chapter Outline .................................................................................................... 24 0.8 Questions of Spanishness ..................................................................................... 30 Chapter One: The Marks of Local History on a Village .......................................................... 34 1.1 The “Local” Population ....................................................................................... 36 1.2 Main Economic Activity ...................................................................................... 39 1.3 Politics in the Village ........................................................................................... 44 1.4 Tourism in Frigiliana ........................................................................................... 46 1.5 Plan of the Village ............................................................................................... 49 1.6 Local Monuments: Sites of Memory ................................................................... 50 1.7 Twelve Ceramic Panels........................................................................................ 56 1.8 Naming and Renaming the Village ...................................................................... 60 Chapter Two: Peace and Conflict in the Axarquía and Frigiliana ........................................... 70 2.1 Frigiliana: Cambios y Permanencias ................................................................... 72 2.2 Visigoth Spain (409-711) ..................................................................................... 73 2.3 Muslim Spain 711-1492 ....................................................................................... 74 2.4 Christian Reconquista (722-1492) ....................................................................... 76 2.5 The End of Islamic Rule, 1492 ............................................................................ 78 2.6 Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Frigiliana ............................................ 79 2.7 The Second Republic ........................................................................................... 83 2.8 The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939 ..................................................................... 89 2.9 Frigiliana after the Civil War ............................................................................... 91 2.10 Remembering to Forget and Forgetting to Remember ...................................... 94 Chapter Three: The Politics of Festivals. Social Containment and Social Change ................. 97 3.1 Festivals in Spain ............................................................................................... 105 3.2 Interpretations of Festivals ................................................................................. 109 3.3 The “Social Cohesion” Approach: A Break from Superego ............................. 111 3.4The “Social Protest” Approach ........................................................................... 115 3.5 Festivals outside Everyday Time? Liminal to Liminoid.................................... 119 3.6 Other Festivals in Frigiliana............................................................................... 128 3.6.1 Festival Danza Oriental ........................................................... 128 3.6.2 Carnaval .................................................................................. 129 3.6.3 El Día de las Cruces de Mayo ................................................. 130 3.6.4 El Día de San Sebastián .......................................................... 132 3.6.5 Semana Santa .......................................................................... 133 3.6.6 Feria de San Antonio de Padua ............................................... 134 3.6.7 Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas .................................................. 137 Chapter Four: Tarrying with the Positive “Other” ................................................................. 140 4.1 Ruta de la Tapa .................................................................................................. 145 4.2 Mojitos: The Medieval Drink?........................................................................... 148 4.3 Food and Festival ............................................................................................... 151 4.4 “We are all al-Ándalus”: The Overt Transcript of the Festival ......................... 154 4.5 The Music of the Festival .................................................................................. 162 4.6 The End of the First Day .................................................................................... 166 4.7 Oppossing Spanishness ...................................................................................... 169 Chapter Five: Al-Ándalus Ethnicity? A Historical Term par Excellence .............................. 175 5.2 The Body as the Foundation of al-Ándalus?...................................................... 181 5.3 The Things Colours Do ...................................................................................... 187 5.4 Sounds of the Street ........................................................................................... 190 5.5 Un Beso, un Abrazo: Touch ............................................................................... 194 5.6 Sensing Something New: Common Sense to Good Sense ................................ 197 Chapter Six: The Unquestioning Tourist is the Agent of Social Change .............................. 203 6.1 Tourism in Spain ................................................................................................ 212 6.2 Inequality and the Price of Tourism................................................................... 217 6.3 It’s Just a Commercial Event ............................................................................. 222 6.4 Al-Ándalus, Inc. ................................................................................................. 225 6.5 The Role of the Witness ..................................................................................... 233 Chapter Seven: The Hidden Transcript of Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas ............................ 235 7.1 Contemporary Muslims in Frigiliana ................................................................. 237 7.2 The Contemporary Hidden Transcript ............................................................... 242 7.3 “Photos of Family and Friends” ......................................................................... 246 7.4 The Spanish Civil War and the Franco Regime................................................. 249 7.5 Francoist Control of Culture .............................................................................. 250 7.6 Historical Memory “¡Presente!” ........................................................................ 255 7.7 The Festival as Cultural Activism...................................................................... 266 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 269 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 283 Appendix A: Festival Frigiliana 3 Culturas Mission Statement .......................... a Appendix B: Rules of the Festival ............................................................................... 2 Acknowledgement I wish to acknowledge the support of my wife, Marion, and children, Ross and Hayley, without whom this project would not have been completed. During my eighteen months of fieldwork in Frigiliana, I missed many birthdays, anniversaries and family events. I thank them for their support and understanding. I wish to thank the villagers in Frigiliana for their constant help. They welcomed me into their lives, and I was never refused access to people or information. They taught me about their village and are responsible for the content of this