Turismo e cultura na perspectiva decolonial: patrimonialização e uso turístico do frevo em Recife e Olinda (Pernambuco-Brasil)

Abstract

In the relationship between tourism and culture, there is a dialectical conflict in the forms of cultural production and in the configurations of the supply and consumption of tourist products, which significantly affect the people and territories involved. When investigating patrimonialization, discourses and practices are identified that highlight distinctions and tensions related to cultures, environments, historical periods, and territories. The processes of patrimonialization and touristification are interconnected, resembling each other and intensely impacting sociocultural dynamics and the production of space. This thesis sought to identify, map, and characterize the materialization and territorialization of frevo and its use in tourism in Recife and Olinda (Pernambuco, Brazil), and to investigate its patrimonialization - based on the theoretical-methodological proposal of popular activation of heritage-territory - ultimately reflecting on “other possible forms of tourism”. From a decolonial perspective, a bibliographical review and theoretical crossover of critical tourism and heritage studies were conducted. Through documentary research, the nomination dossiers of frevo as Brazilian and world Intangible Cultural Heritage and the revalidation opinions of these titles were examined, along with documents, laws, plans, projects, and initiatives focused on culture, tourism, and frevo. Additionally, semi-structured interviews and participant and nonparticipant observation were conducted to understand the singularities and specificities of the frevo communities. Content analysis allowed for the identification and characterization of the conceptions, discourses, and narratives present and recurring in the documents, testimonies, and observations collected. This set of procedures enabled the analysis of the Affective Territorial Connection Variables (ATCV) and the development of the Frevo Map. It was intriguing to observe that although frevo represents and identifies the tourist destination Recife/Olinda, it does not seem to effectively benefit from the advantages (including economic) derived from the services and products that support tourism. The critical and decolonial analyses identified the struggles and utopias of frevo practitioners to resist the power standards (modern, Eurocentric, and colonial) that align with the hegemonic logics of capitalism and the global market, affecting social existence and material and subjective relations particularly in Latin America. It is estimated that this thesis contributes to uncommon reflections in the theoretical field of tourism, as, beyond being a case study of unique aspects, the considerations and analyses may be relevant for thinking about “other possible forms of tourism” in different contexts and realities where cultural assets are subject to global patrimonialization and touristification processes.