Galego | English

Non fiction

Arte e cultura de Galicia e Norte de Portugal - Etnografía (2 volumes)

By VV.AA.

About this book

This is a fundamental book analysing the great diversity of our culture, divided into five highly attractive topics: cultures of the sea, cities and towns, beliefs and festivals, the land of barley and chestnuts and the lands of wine and maize. There are two volumes where we can also understand the links between Galicia and the North of Portugal.

Book fragment

Thus, the elimination of border controls may allow for the reactivation of human, cultural and economic relations between Galicia and our close neighbours, especially the area of Portugal north of the Douro river. An ideal future is already claimed by some, a Europe of the peoples, based on mutual solidarity and with a wise combination of the global and local; i.e., a globalised Europe. The obstacles to making this a reality are huge, but in any case the effort is worthwhile. From this perspective, the so-called traditional cultures may contribute significantly to the construction of such a future, since the places they preserve in memory, both mental and material, have the capacity to balance the homogenising trends of the present. So far, and while we wait for this hope to become real, this book is an attempt to bring together a sampling of the knowledge, techniques, beliefs and values created or maintained by the peoples in Galicia and the North of Portugal until the present or recent past. This is a small window to a new world where the relationships amongst neighbours with a common culture were disturbed by historical changes at least partially, despite their common culture.