International festivals

My name‿ is Maria. My city^ci-dy holds‿ an‿ international festival‿ every October,│ an(d) having watched‿ it for forty^for-dy years,│ I can describe precisely what commercialisation does to a tradition.

It begins with‿ a revival. When my grandmother was young,│ three streets celebrated with‿ a procession‿ an(d) cakes,│ an(d) by the 1970s‿ it had‿ almos(t) disappeared. A committee revived‿ it‿ in 1984,│ an(d) revival‿ is never neutral:│ what‿ is restored‿ is‿ a selection,│ an(d) the parts that were‿ inconvenient‿ are forgotten. Then comes the spectacle. Musicians from twenty^twen-dy countries,│ three parades,│ a market‿ in the main square,│ and‿ eighty^eigh-dy thousan(d) visitors. Intangible heritage‿ is now a category that can be commodified,│ and‿ a hotel room costs four times more during the festival than‿ a week later^la-der.

I am not‿ against‿ it. My family still decorates the balcony an(d) cooks for the neighbours,│ an(d) the participation‿ is what makes the week worth having. What worries me is that the spectacle‿ is gradually replacing the participation,│ and‿ a festival that becomes‿ a performance for visitors will not survive the generation that performs‿ it. If‿ a tradition never changes,│ it dies;│ if‿ it changes‿ only for money,│ it becomes‿ a show. The difference‿ is│ whether the people│ who live here‿ are still taking part.