Intangible Heritage Ceremony in Chile: Recognition of its communities and territories
ince 2022, the National Subdirectorate of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the National Heritage Service has held the Annual Recognition Ceremony for Intangible Heritage in Chile, its communities and territories, which aims to make visible the communities recognized in the Registry of Intangible Heritage, who receive this distinction from the President of the Republic. In this way, the State welcomes and opens the doors of Palacio de la Moneda to the legate communities of these important cultural heritages that are developed in the national territory and that account for the cultural diversity of our country.
This year the event will bring together male and female cultural practitioners who recreate their heritage throughout the territory, from the northernmost to the south, the “Tradition of the Afro-descendant May Crosses in the Azapa, Lluta and Acha valleys of the region from Arica and Parinacota “; the High Andean livestock system for South American camelids in the provinces of Parinacota, Tarapacá, El Loa and Copiapó”; “Black gold collectors on Changa beach in Coquimbo Bay and their ancestral knowledge”; “Techniques and knowledge associated with the visual narration and community imaginaries of the Arpilleristas of Lo Hermida and Pudahuel, Huamachuco, Huechuraba and La Pintana in the Metropolitan Region”; “Techniques and knowledge associated with the herding and breeding practices of the Antuco mountain range in the Biobío region”; “Tradition of weaving in Quelgo of the Los Lagos region”; “Way of life associated with field work in Torres del Paine in the Magallanes region”; and the “Folk song” from the Maule region.
Each and every one of them will come together to share their knowledge, join the 49 other practices recognized in the Registry of Intangible Cultural Heritage and in this way reinforce the State’s commitment to safeguarding intangible heritage. This is important, given that the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage celebrates 20 years since its creation. With this gesture, the State of Chile renews its commitment to the intangible heritage communities after 14 years since its entry into law in the national territory.
The ceremony not only seeks to promote and make visible the new expressions and communities recognized in the Chilean Registry, but also to invite other groups inheritors of intangible heritage in the country to identify their heritage, take actions to safeguard it and enhance the value of cultural diversity for citizens and the State.
The National Subdirectorate of Intangible Cultural Heritage is pleased to be able to receive and bring together the exponents of the intangible heritage recognized last year in the country, in the presidential house, thereby delivering a message of the importance that citizenship, local identity and diversity have and should have in public policy, as well as the unrestricted commitment to communities, their cultural heritage and its safeguarding.
