Fire in the Placa: Catalan Festival Politics After Franco
"An excellent model of how to approach the analysis of principal communities, in Europe and elsewhere, that are struggling to overcome internal conflicts and contradictions and find acceptable ways of participating in a wider, increasingly globalized world."—South European Society and Politics"This impressive contribution to the anthropology of Europe is the first full-length study in English of the Patum, a Corpus Christi fire festival unique to the town of Berga, in the foothills of the Catalan Pyrenees (Spain). It also marks the emergence of an important scholar. Noyes combines that rarity—well-crafted and accessible prose—with a theoretical architecture that borrows from hermeneutics and the anthropology of power. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"This book stands above other festival studies in its ability not only to convey information but also, of equal importance, to recreate the emotional texture of events for performers and audience alike. . . . This book is a must."—Journal of American Folklore