International festivals

My name‿ is Maria. My city^ci-dy has held‿ an‿ international festival‿ every October for four decades,│ an(d) having watched‿ it throughout,│ I can describe with some precision what commodification does to a tradition.

It begins‿ as‿ a revival. When my grandmother was young,│ three streets celebrated with‿ a procession‿ an(d) cakes,│ an(d) by the 1970s the practice had‿ almos(t) vanished. A committee revived‿ it‿ in 1984,│ an(d) revival‿ is never neutral,│ because what‿ is restored‿ is‿ a selection‿ an(d) the inconvenient‿ elements‿ are quietly omitted. Then‿ arrives 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 has become‿ a category that can be commodified,│ and‿ a hotel room now costs four times more during the festival than‿ a week later^la-der,│ which displaces the residents│ whose participation gave the event‿ its meaning.

I am not‿ opposed to it. My family still decorates the balcony an(d) cooks for the neighbours,│ an(d) participation‿ is what makes the week worth having. What concerns me is that the spectacle‿ is gradually supplanting the participation,│ and‿ a festival that becomes‿ a performance for visitors will not‿ outlive the generation that performs‿ it. A tradition that never changes dies,│ and‿ a tradition that changes‿ only for money becomes‿ a production. The distinction lies‿ in│ whether the people│ who live here‿ are still taking part.