This is a continuation of the preview post in May of the Festival da Primavera (Festival of Spring) in Moreira da Maia. I’ve seen a number of rancho folclórico (“ranch folk”) performances since I arrived in Portugal, but they’ve usually been at night or I’ve been nowhere near the stage to photograph them as I’d like. At this event I walked right up to the stage and was able to shoot them up close, which gives a better view of their traditional clothing and dance steps.
Something I find interesting about ranchos is that their performances are not aimed at tourists, their main audience is homegrown. I have seen in other countries around the world where the folk traditions are only trotted out periodically, on display for other cultures, and then get put aside the rest of the time. But here it’s evident that the formation of folk groups is not to impress the outside world, it is truly for themselves. This cultivates solidarity and a strong identity, in my opinion, a brand of national pride1 that makes sense to me and that I can get behind.
May 24, 2015
Album: Portugal [Spring 2015]
- let’s aim higher and do something more meaningful than just waving a flag and going rah-rah-rah ↩
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