Miguel-Anxo Murado: Do Flamenco and the Mediterranean Diet Really Deserve Special UN status?
[Miguel-Anxo Murado is a Spanish writer and journalist.]
Rising unemployment, national debt, the markets; this has not been a good year for things material in Spain. But in the non-material sphere we've been much better off. At least if we are to judge by the standards set by the Unesco intangible heritage list. Spain got five items on this year's list, from Andalucian flamenco to the Catalan castells. Falconry and the Mediterranean diet have also gained recognition. They share this intangible podium with, among other things, Mexican food, French cuisine, the Peruvian scissors dance and an ancient Chinese shipbuilding technique.
Unesco began to compile this list in 2003 in order to register "intangible" cultural assets that may be in danger of disappearing, such as songs, dances, languages, skills, ideas etc. Of course, the scheme is not without its critics. There are those who think that any money spent on culture is money wasted; those who pour scorn on everything minorities do; those who simply don't like the UN and criticise whatever it does....
Read entire article at Guardian (UK)
Rising unemployment, national debt, the markets; this has not been a good year for things material in Spain. But in the non-material sphere we've been much better off. At least if we are to judge by the standards set by the Unesco intangible heritage list. Spain got five items on this year's list, from Andalucian flamenco to the Catalan castells. Falconry and the Mediterranean diet have also gained recognition. They share this intangible podium with, among other things, Mexican food, French cuisine, the Peruvian scissors dance and an ancient Chinese shipbuilding technique.
Unesco began to compile this list in 2003 in order to register "intangible" cultural assets that may be in danger of disappearing, such as songs, dances, languages, skills, ideas etc. Of course, the scheme is not without its critics. There are those who think that any money spent on culture is money wasted; those who pour scorn on everything minorities do; those who simply don't like the UN and criticise whatever it does....