Population observes mischaracterization of traditional June parties in Manaus

Manaus (AM) – In recent years, the population of Amazonas has noticed the incentive and support that the municipal authorities inject into the cultural area. Moving more than R$ 4 million in the local economy, the 65th Folk Festival of Amazonas, for example, receives a record public of 120 thousand visitors this year. Despite support for cultural manifestations, the traditional characteristics of the June festivities are being lost over time in the eyes of the population.

With a Northeastern tradition, the “Community São João” no longer welcomes all social classes and today has closed parties, not available to all audiences. In addition to the increase in food and drink prices, another change is the implementation of differentiated rhythms in traditional dances, which mischaracterize the cultural movement.

In the capital of Amazonas, the most popular festivals in the city are located in the Center-South areas of Manaus. The CSU Festival at Parque 10 and the Amazonas Folk Festival, which takes place at Bola da Suframa, are responsible for concentrating a large part of the cultural presentations of associations in the city. But, in recent years, manauaras point out that the grandeur of the festival has left something to be desired.

Housewife Rosângela Silva, 65, annually visits the festival held at Bola da Suframa and says that the current performances are different from traditional dances.

“Nowadays I don’t see so much traditional dance, the square dances mix the rhythms with funk, sertanejo, even the clothes have lost their sparkle, it’s very different, I’m not so excited to watch it”,

vents the retiree.

But the festival that takes place today at Bola da Suframa previously took place elsewhere in the city. Until the 1970s, the Amazonas Folklore Festival was held downtown, at Praça General Osório, now closed and integrated into the Colégio Militar de Manaus, historian and professor, Fábio Augusto de Carvalho Pedrosa, explains that the high values on site scare away residents.

“With the transfer to Bola da Suframa, many people stopped attending due to the distance and also the high prices that started to be practiced in the stalls and attractions”,

scores the teacher.

The historian also observes the change from traditional dances to a more stylized style, which can attract and discourage the public, depending on the point of view.

“A complaint I’ve noticed for some time is that the dances have become generic, without rhythm and any relationship with the traditional São João. To make matters worse, we have seen that in some festivals popular songs are being replaced by performances by artists from genres that have no cultural relationship with São João, such as sertanejo and funk”,

says Pedrosa.

Nowadays, the popular rhythms of the great mass dominate the music charts, mainly due to the dissemination made on social networks. Because it is so popular, the “hits” of the moment are part of the repertoire of dances that were once more traditional.

The mischaracterization of the June festival still occurs through gastronomy, where traditional foods, also known as “farm foods”, lose ground to industrialized foods.

At the Amazonas Folklore Festival, for example, which took place in June this year, among the special food stalls, there were tents selling pizza, hamburgers, french fries, “gourmet” sweets, among other foods that are not part of the original context of a June celebration.

“It even has traditional food, but it’s also expensive. A simple barbecue dish with rice and farofa cost R$17. Not everyone can afford it, you see a piece of pizza sold for R$10. nothing to do with the Festa Junina itself”,

clarifies Rosângela Silva.

More and more expensive prices

Historian Fábio Pedrosa emphasizes that a party that should be popular is becoming increasingly aimed at classes that have greater purchasing power.

“The popular festivals, as the name says, should serve the population, but unfortunately, this is not what we have seen. In Manaus, at the festivals of Parque 10 and Bola Suframa, we have found very small dishes costing R$35. Can you imagine how it is for a family?”,

asks the professor.

Much of the popularization of these traditional festivals occurred due to media coverage by major communication vehicles. Nowadays, with the advancement and impact of social networks, many influencers publicize the June festivities with a vision considered more capitalist than cultural.

There are few that show the cultural attractions and enjoy the festivities in front of the stage. The public is interested in knowing how much the typical dishes and available toys cost, but the disclosure does not incorporate the traditional dances that are performed during the festival’s operating nights.

“With the great media coverage of these events in communication vehicles, this activity also contributes to this evasion of traditions and the practice of abusive prices. The media certainly has a big role to play in this change. At the same time that it promotes this change, it also manages to give vent to criticism”,

finishes Fábio Pedrosa.

As time goes by, the traditional gives way to modernization, and this includes the festivities that take place in June. A national example of this situation was the half-hour presentation of the forró singer Flávio José, in São João de Campina Grande (PB), which had the time reduced for the presentation of the singer Gusttavo Lima.

Experts point out that the cultural appropriation of the June festivities was subsidized by the process of capitalism, which gives preference to items and artists that have greater visibility, rather than people who work directly in the festivities, regardless of the season.

Increasingly, traditionalism ceases to be the protagonist, giving way to new influences, which please the youngest, but discourage those who like conventional parties.

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