When focusing on (more or less) formalized institutions that present heritage to the public (museums and festivals): when do these succeed to increase people s understanding of each other? The Caribbean case. Dr. Roberto Valcárcel Rojas Posdoctoral researcher ERC-Synergy Project NEXUS1492 Leiden University-CITMA, Cuba International expert meeting Evidence based heritage policies for inclusive societies 7 & 8 May 2015, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden
FESTIVALS
FESTIVAL 1. A sacred or profane time of celebration, marked by special observances. 2. The annual celebration of a notable person, deity or event, or the harvest of an important product. 3. A cultural event consisting of a series of performances of works in the fine arts, often devoted to a single artist or genre. 4. A fair. 5. Generic gaiety, conviviality, cheerfulness Hall and Sharples, 2008
Seville Spring Festival
FESTIVALS. Potential benefits: 1- Generation of greater economic benefits for local people and enhancement of the wellbeing of host communities; 2- Improvement in the working conditions of the festival environment and initiatives to generate further employment; 3- Inclusion of local people in decision making with respect to festival development; 4- Support for diversity and contribution to conservation of natural and cultural heritage; 5- Creation of enjoyable experiences by enabling visitors to connect meaningfully with residents; 6- Provision of access for physically challenged people 7- Being culturally sensitive, encouraging respect between event-goers and hosts, building local pride and confidence.
MUSEUMS A museum can be an instrument to achieved a specific aim, in a positive and in a negative sense. Museums were and are still abused to glorify a nation s past or its leader s heroism. But they can also be in the service of noble ideas, such as mutual understanding, peace or cultural diversity. Martin R. Scharer, 2003
-Integrated museum -Ecomuseum -Neighborhood museum - - - -
Museum and social work: -Museums, health, and society -Museums, competence, and society -Museums, identity, and society -Museums, transcendence, and society -Museums, companions, and society -Museums, intimacy, and society
Visitor diversity in the inclusive museum The politics of heritage: national, regional, ethnic, diasporic and first nation identities Multilingualism: accessibility for small languages and cultures Gender and sexual orientation in the museum Disability access in the museum Competing cultures: high, folk, popular, techno-scientific Pedagogy as presentation or dialogue: the relation with the visitors
Hurricanes, environmental damage, sea level rise and risk to island states (SIDS) Poverty and racial discrimination
Political confrontation; legal and illegal migration; human and drug traffic
Hernando de Soto Juego de cañas. XVI c. (game of canes) Pilgrimage and festival of the Virgin Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre. Cuba, XVII c.
African slaves. Traffic and explotation African slave festival. Cuba, XIX c.
Caribbean museums Island Museums Cayman Island 4 Turk and Caicos 1 Bahamas 6 Antigua and Barbuda 3 Barbados 4 Dominica 1 Saint Lucia 9 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 Trinidad and Tobago 6 Saint Kitts and Nevis 6 Curacao 17 Martinique 42 Cuba 328 Puerto Rico 84 Dominican Republic 20 Jamaica 18 Haiti 8
National Museum. Saint Kitts National Museum. Grenada Museum of Nevis History
Coleccionde west indies Museo del Hombre Dominicano Panteon Nacional.Haiti Museo del Indio. Puerto Rico
Museo de la Ruta del Esclavo. Cuba (2015) Curacao. The Kura Hulanda and Tula Museums
Museum. Financing sources Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico Locals 55% Foreigners 45%
Museums in Cuba
Cuba. Municipal museums
Caribbean festivals Carnaval. Dominican Republic Voodoo Festival. Haiti Carnaval. Santiago de Cuba
Regional cultural festivals. Cuba 1. Romerías de Mayo..festival of po etry, theater, traditional dances, etc.. 2. 2. Congreso Cultura y Desarrollo 3. Jornada Cucalambeana y Encuentro 4. Festival Iberoamericano de la Décima 5.Festival del Caribe 6. Fiesta de los Orígenes 7. Fiesta de la cubanía 8. Fiesta de la Cultura Iberoamericana 9. Feria Nacional de Arte Popular 10. Fiesta a la Guantanamera Other festivals: 1.Fiestas patronales 2.Carnavales 3.Parrandas 4.Charangas
Polemic celebrations Día de la raza (Day of the Race). Dominican Republic Puerto Rico Discovery Day Happy Puerto Rico Discovery Day. The beginning of the end!!
Carnaval Cimarrón (maroon) Barriga Verde, San Juan de la Maguana, República Dominicana P. Rico Fisherman's Birthday (St. Peter's Birthday). Grenada Annual Hurricane Supplication Mass at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Chapel, St. Croix
Dominican Republic Carnaval Secretaria de Cultura (RD) 2011
Puerto Rico (Taino Nation Festival)
Trinidad Carnival WIPO/CARICOM, 2006
Conclusions -Given the extensiveness of the region, differences in language and the dispersion of information, it becomes problematic to obtain data that allows establishing a detailed and profound vision on the characteristics of museums and festivals in the varying Antillean islands. -Museums and festivals both encourage and promote dialogue, social understanding and promote inclusiveness of the public in the Caribbean. Both, museums and festivals, support cultural understanding based on their particular characteristics, and therefore can make an important contribution in solving the multiple problems the region faces. This opportunity should encourage us to further develop and enhance professional skills of the personnel involved in these environments. It should encourage government action and financial support to enable a sustainable operation of the projects. -Festivals are particularly important to foster understanding and social dialogue between different groups. Many festivals have a long continuous history of uniting people of different ethnic origin, as well as political and social positions. -It is essential for festivals, museums and other institutions to raise awareness of the history of slavery, its meanings and its impact today. It is important to assess this process in its connection with racial discrimination and social relegation of black and other ethnic groups. The legacy of slavery is also a common heritage. It is a story of genocide and pain but also struggle for life and hope. It is one of the basis of our present. -It is important to include in festivals and museums themes that represent other ethnic groups like the Indigenous-American, Hindu, the Jewish community and the Chinese. -It would be useful to develop the capacity of museums and festivals as a resource to promote social understanding, and to increase the cultural exchange between regions on their particular experience, given that many communities have a common cultural base. It is also important to incorporate the international experience in this matter, particularly from others poor countries. -Museums and festivals should promote a narrative that goes beyond the historical aspects of instructing and public education. They should have an interest to encourage the discussion of problems such as drug abuse, poverty, racial discrimination, domestic violence, and environmental risk. -For this kind of regional cultural aspects, there should be more economic support from local and international institutions, to support the projects that highlight social and community profiles, the social work performed by the museums, and their role as an inclusive space. -In the case of festivals, particularly big carnivals, considering their strong media presence, and hence large public impact, we should insist in promoting a discourse of no violence, tolerance, social integration and understanding.