Tradition, festivals and clashing social values

Christians (Fiestas de Moros y Cristianos) in several Spanish festivals; or on the real level, those 
numerous and diverse Spanish bloody traditions which focus on the fighting against a bull (toro embolado, 
toro ensogado, etc.) in open spaces of the villages. 
3
The alarde of Irun has taken place since 1881. In the Basque tradition, the alardes are folkloric 
festivities which are organized in several localities. Regarding this kind of festival see for instance: Juan 
Antonio Urbeltz, Alardeak, Donostia: Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa, 1995 

---

4
La Toma de Granada, which takes place in this Andalusian town every year on 
January 2nd. This festival commemorates Spain's conquest of Granada from the Moors 
in 1492. It is not a question of an official or institutional celebration but of a popular 
festival, which also has its place among the several Andalusian festivals enjoyed not 
only by insiders but also by foreign visitors. In the different acts comprising this festival, 
the Spanish army plays a salient role. The celebration contains performances which, 
besides the fact that they emphasize a clear divisory line between winners and 
defeated, circunscribe a right-wing symbology. Given all these characteristics and also 
that people celebrate a historical event which in fact resulted in a veritable ethnic 
cleansing, detractors of this festival in Granada itself have spoken out. They understand 
that "the ceremony of the 2nd January does not contribute towards consolidating 
sentiments in favor of a community life and mutual tolerance on which every town which 
aspires to progress ought to be founded"
4
. All such protests by certain progressive 
sectors of Granada's citizenry have been not able, until now, to eliminate a symbology 
which inescapably must be wounding for the increasingly more numerous community of 
Maghrebi origin dwelling in the town. 
It is clear that in this case of Granada the importance given to tradition proves to 
be insane. If the anthropologist must be very critical of this kind of festival belonging to 
tradition, he/she must also be critical in relation to those multicultural festivals which are 
now becoming a tradition in Europe. They intend to contribute toward a better 
integration of immigrants. Yet in spite of this laudable goal, these festivals can also 
bring with them collateral negative effects, such as the exoticization of immigrants. 
Thus, we can also find clashing social values. 
Multicultural festivals, which are launched by institutions or non-governamental 
groups, are taking place more and more frequently in recent years. These initiatives are 
a consequence of a growing awareness that a pluricultural way of living together for our 
society needs to be supported. These festivals have a very specific social function: they 
utility lies in helping to inculcate in people the need for respecting the right of difference 
in societies, marked by migratory influx. These festivals are different from other ones in 
that it is not tradition that justifies them but above all, the ideal of determined values of 
living together respectfully and the conviction that there is a need to build bridges 
between different collectivities, which are defined by ethnicity criteria. They are festivals, 
4
Proposal of the group Manifiesto 2 de Enero which aims to interchange the festival of La Toma in the 
fiesta de las culturas (Cultures Festival). Cfr. F. Javier García Castaño (ed.), Fiesta, Tradición y Cambio, 
Granada: Proyecto Sur de Ediciones, 2000, p. 173 

---

5
then, which look more to the future than to the past. Nevertheless, -and this is the core 
of the question- we can also find reification views of tradition; in this case of the tradition 
which our culture thinks belongs to immigrants.
If on the one side, the principles which multicultural festivals defend are really 
necessary for our society, on the other side, these festivals, as they are usually 
conceived, can easy fall into the trap of exoticizing immigrants. Thus, these festivals can 
give a mixed message. Their message says explicitly that pluricultural coexistence is 
not only necessary but also positive. Yet implicitly such festivals can also contribute 
toward reifing ethnocentrically the figure of immigrant.
Thus, for instance, in multicultural festivals that regularly take place in Barcelona, 
among the different stands are some which literally announce "ethnic food". Today then, 
we speak not only of ethnic music but also of ethnic dances, ethnic dress, ethnic