Turismo, eventos e etnicidade : Festival Internacional do Folclore Nova Petrópolis - RS - Brasil

Abstract

The main theme of this study is the search for a bigger and better understanding of the International Folklore Festival (FIF – Festival Internacional de Folclore), which takes place annually in Nova Petrópolis, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; connecting it with tourism, local memories and ethnicity. It tries to discover if FIF, during its forty editions, has contributed to the preservation of the local memory and, at the same time, encouraged the creation of a new social memory from the region. To conduct this research, a qualitative method was chosen, supported in the oral history, since this is the way to interpret the experiences lived by its participants, such as the recognition from the several voices related to the Festival. The data were collected through bibliographic revision, document and field research as interviews and participant observation. This study tried to approximate the theory field to tourism and events, considering the historic background from tourism and FIF in Nova Petrópolis. In the analysis of these themes, dialogues and (inter)relations that indicate the local memory preservation stand out, however the construction of new memories are evident, especially those related to germanness, an imaginary that once created and constructed in the community, would be contributing to an identity construction and a belonging and identity feeling from Nova Petrópolis, related to it.