Alimentação contemporânea: aspectos culturais das mudanças alimentares no São João de Campina Grande - PB.

Abstract

Our eating habits are part of a cultural system filled with symbols, meanings and classifications, as no food is free from cultural associations that the so- ciety of his time attributed to them. The process of globalization seems to impute some concerns with the food cultural systems: the loss of the mean- ing as regional, in other words, the tradition component. One of the events which mark the meaning of food for human culture are the parties. What happens to some of them and their typical food in this process? The aim of this study was, consequently, to understand what factors affect the change of culinary components in one of the great importance of parties in the coun- try: the São João1 of Campina Grande. For the research, after few days of initial exploration in the field, semi-structured with two groups of people in- terviews were conducted: (1) the owners and managers of fixed restaurants in the inside of the Parque do Povo1 and (2) the regulars Eaters party. The interviews were analyzed through the methodology of content analysis. It was noticed that the major changes in food were: (1) the inclusion of inter- national food restaurants as well as large local networks that do not neces- sarily sell typical products of the season and (2) the presence of fast-food. In relation to the factors that these changesproduce, we have: (1) the desire for knowledge of the new; (2) the increased diversity of food and (3) the op- eration of a new business opportunity. It is recognized that the taste for new is a natural movement of a culture that has become global, and reinvents their tradition to their guests feel the taste of the world (like the universaliza-tion). The question is how it will be guaranteed a certain preservation of cul- tural elements in this festive meal, which means, it remains culturally appro- priate, respecting the unique local taste. How to find this mediation? This issue could support future work in this field.