Abstract

PAZOS CARDENAS, Mateo. A Queer Arrullo: Heritage, Gender Performativity, and Sexual Diversity in the Marimba Music and Traditional Songs and Dances of the Colombian South Pacific. Antipod. Rev. Antropol. Arqueol. [online]. 2022, n.49, pp.111-132.  Epub Oct 27, 2022. ISSN 1900-5407.  https://doi.org/10.7440/antipoda49.2022.05.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the intersections between the spaces of deployment of the cultural traditions of the Colombian South Pacific, associated with the heritage of marimba music and the region’s traditional songs and dances, and the LGBTQ+ subjects who embody and enact them in their daily lives. How are the particular life experiences of these self-recognized LGBTQ+ subjects articulated with the reproduction and performatization of these cultural traditions? How is this gender diversity strained and negotiated in such spaces? What does the notorious invisibilization of gender diversity in intangible cultural heritage studies tell us? What contributions can queer epistemologies bring to the study of heritage processes? Discussions on gender and sexuality in the field of heritage studies are scarce and reveal a heteronormative reading of the field of studies itself and its specialists. In turn, gender studies have done little to address discussions on sexuality in the field of popular traditions and festivities in Colombia and Latin America. This article is based on an ethnographic methodology applied to fieldwork conducted since 2019 in the municipality of San Andrés de Tumaco (Nariño), prioritizing the analysis of an arrullo, a space of socialization typical of the region’s spiritual culture, where these melodies and songs are performed. In general, the findings lead to the conclusion that LGBTQ+ subjects are not necessarily excluded from these spaces; rather, they are places in which community ties, belonging, recognition, and social prestige are disputed and reaffirmed.

Keywords : Afro-Colombia; intangible cultural heritage; gender studies; queer studies; sexual diversity.

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