INFORMAL RECORDS AND THE AUTOCHTHONOUS PRESERVATION OF THE FIESTA OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE IN RURAL MEXICO

[摘要] This dissertation studies how a yearly religious fiesta dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe in the rural community of La Plaza del Limón, Michoacán, Mexico is preserved without the support of an archive.The study addresses discussions in archival studies concerning the need for investigations in the archival preservation of intangible cultural heritage by way of theory-building.I conducted ethnographic fieldwork by observing and interviewing the townspeople, the fiesta's organizers, and local videographers.I analyzed the data using grounded theory and the approach known as 'dimensional analysis” developed by Leonard Schatzman in the tradition of Anselm L. Strauss.By way of this approach I arrived at the theory that the fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe is preserved through informal records.The principal dimensions in support of this theory include: the 'living identity” of the community that is evolving and embedded in the lives of inhabitants of La Plaza; the 'memory infrastructures” embodied in the memory of the town’s inhabitants’ recollection of the past and transmitted through oral history; 'devotional labor” enacted every year by the Catholic Church members who organize the fiesta, and the local and visiting attendants who participate in festive activities such as praying, dancing, and socializing; and finally, 'material production,” specifically the works of local videographers who produce digital video discs that are distributed to the Mexican diaspora in the U.S.

[发布机构] the University of Pittsburgh