The festivity of Our Lady of Navigators, in Porto Alegre-RS and the intangible and historic heritage

Abstract

This paper addresses the National Historic Heritage and more precisely on the intangible property, recently recognized as part of the Brazilian cultural heritage by legislation. The need for registry and preservation of intangible property appeared in the Brazilian legislation for the first time in the 1988 Federal Constitution (BRASIL, 1988). The Feast of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, Porto Alegre, is the intangible property that we bring as an example for this work. The municipal government approved the event, this year, as Intangible Cultural Heritage of the City, being the first registry of intangible property in Porto Alegre. The consideration of the celebrations, knowledge, forms of expression and expressive places as part of historical and cultural heritage enhanced the understanding of the cultural diversity of the country, facilitating their dissemination and preservation, thus underlining the popular culture to face the pressures of mass culture, avoiding oblivion, feared by researchers from Brazilian folklore of the early nineteenth century, for lack of the basic principles of conservation: knowing, protecting, preserve and promote. The Feast of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes is part of the history of Porto Alegre, traditions, culture and imaginary of the people of Porto Alegre. So his registry is just. Keywords: Intangible Cultural Heritage, intangible property, Feast of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, Porto Alegre, Brazilian legislation.