Madrid (EFE).- The Ministry of Culture and Sports has declared the jota as a Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage because it is, it says, “the most widespread, diverse, dynamic and reinterpreted of all the traditional genres that make up the varied sound map and music from Spain.
The Ministry of Culture and Sports, through the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, has initiated the file for this declaration after the Historical Heritage Council, in which all the autonomous communities participate, agreed on the declaration in the meeting held last October in Zaragoza.
The declaration as a representative manifestation is one more step in the processing of the file for the candidacy of the jota for UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, in which 15 autonomous communities participate and which is coordinated by the Ministry.
Thus, it will be the Council of Ministers who, within a maximum period of one year, may agree on the definitive declaration, which will be materialized by means of a Royal Decree.
The jota, the musical genre symbol of the heritage of Spain
The jota refers to a very popular traditional genre of music, song and dance developed up to the present time, with a general pattern at its base and a series of particularities and specificities that make it a diverse manifestation, constantly recreated and reinterpreted. and dynamic by the carrier communities, highlights Culture.
Among the cultural values that the jota contributes as a traditional genre, its internalization by individuals and communities stands out, forming part of popular expressions in practically the entire Spanish territory and becoming a powerful element of social cohesion and identification of its members. signs of identity, indicates the Ministry.
However, it has been taken into account that the jack “faces multiple risks and threats, such as external influences, globalization, fossilization, negative reconsideration by society, the loss of specificity motivated by globalizing policies or the lack of generational relief”.