Analysis of the sustainability of the patios festival: Intangible heritage of humanity

Abstract

Cordoba is a heritage city located in the south of Spain, has four recognitions by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, of which three refer to the material heritage (The "Mosque" recognized in 1984, (Unesco, 1984) , the "Historic Center of the City" (Unesco, 1994), the "Archaeological Site of Medina Azahara" (2018)) and one that is intangible heritage ("the Festival of the Patios" (2012)). With this rich cultural heritage this city is a potential tourist destination, in the segment of cultural tourism. The “patio” as a material part of the house and social area of expansion in certain houses has been evolving from the Roman era to the present, becoming an element of tourist attraction since its inclusion of the “Festival Patios of Córdoba” (FPC) in the Representative List of Intangible Heritage of Humanity (LRPI), promoted by UNESCO, in December 2012 has been a milestone in the celebration of a popular holiday conditioned both by the habitat that welcomes it, the “patios houses” located in the historic center of Córdoba, as for the way of life of those who generate this celebration, the inhabitants of these patio houses. A way of lifehabitus- closely linked, in turn, to said habitat. The patio has generated a growing tourist interest awakened in both national and international markets. This fact implicitly carries with it a responsibility that affects both the organizer of the competition that has retained the Festival during the last eighty years, the town hall, and the generators of the cultural dynamics that make it possible, the inhabitants of patio houses. Currently, the Festival is subject to two tensions: the intense tourist activity that is generated during the days of its celebration in May, and the safeguarding and protection measures that aim to preserve and maintain the heritage resource so as not to exhaust, precisely, its interest tourist. The coordination of these two forces, apparently opposed, should be the objective of those who intend to assume the role of promoter of a management plan of the FPC, since it is, precisely, the capacity of the site to develop a good management tool the aspect in the one that UNESCO puts more emphasis to maintain the inclusion of the good in the LRPI. In this work we will focus on the Patios Festival and its sustainability from the point of view of the Offer, surveying the managers and owners thereof.