Scholarly record

LATIN AMERICAN HOLIDAYS IN THE CULTURAL CITYSCAPE: ORIGINS, CULTURE AND SEMANTICS

Svetlana L. Pyshnova, J. A. Kirsanova, I. K. Cherkasova, I. Y. Lapshin

Abstract

The article studies the festive culture of Latin America, analyzes its shaping under the influence of Spanish festive traditions which were spread to this region. The article shows how the urban environment was changing to correspond with ideas and goals of certain holidays and considers cultural and semantic aspects of Latin American processions similar to European "Entries", both secular and religious. During holidays, local artists depicted the features of urban space, landscape elements, local architecture and feasters. The paper also analyzes the origins of the Latin American carnival and its place in the cultural cityscape. The most important component of the carnival is the square as a special area in the urban space. There were two functionally different squares in medieval cities of Western Europe – cathedral and commercial-civic. The former symbolized the sacred sphere, the latter – the profane one. At the same time, one and the same square served as both in the cities of the New World: it was the place for religious holidays, bullfighting and parades. The paper emphasizes the fact that the carnival in the Latin American region has its own traditions in each country. However, it is always a city holiday with similar characteristics and meanings. Its preparation implies the transformation of the urban environment and the presence of a huge number of people. The article applies a systematic method of research and an interdisciplinary approach to the study of this problem.

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