Keeping the Tradition – Celebrating the Transnational Feast of Jesus of Nazareth of Patamban (Mexico and Florida)

Original title Keeping the Tradition – Celebrating the Transnational Feast of Jesus of Nazareth of Patamban (Mexico and Florida)

Jesús Nazareno is important for the Patambeños in Mexico and for those who have emigrated to the USA. A festival is celebrated in his honour every year, in Mexico and in different places in the United States, if possible on the same weekend. The feast opens the possibility to bring people together, locally but also virtually, to celebrate the Catholic masses, to practice traditional dances, to exchange gifts and to eat, talk and dance in company. The film shows the festival as it was celebrated in Florida in 2013, the way it was prepared and the people taking part. It becomes clear that in the USA the festival appeals to far more people than just migrants from the home village. At certain points there are flashbacks to the festival in Mexico, as celebrated there in 1998. This shows their differences, and the effort it takes to transfer a tradition to a new environment.
The film shows the festival as it was celebrated in Florida in 2013, how it was prepared and who took part. It becomes clear that in the USA the festival appeals to far more people than just migrants from the home village. At certain points there are flashbacks to the festival in Mexico, as it was celebrated there in 1998. This shows the differences and the effort it takes to transfer a tradition to a new environment.

Author/s Beate Engelbrecht

Beate Engelbrecht studied anthropology, sociology and economics. She worked in the Museum der Kulturen Basel and taught anthropology at the universities of Basel and Göttingen. For 25 years she worked at the Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) in Göttingen as a filmmaker, film producer, and teacher of visual anthropology. For her films, she received several awards. She co-founded the German International Ethnographic Film Festival (GIEFF) in 1993, and the online journal AnthroVision in 2013 published by the Visual Anthropology Network of EASA. She currently works freelance as a filmmaker, is the director of AnthroVision, and international coordinator of the GIEFF.

Research Beate Engelbrecht
Photography Beate Engelbrecht
Sound Beate Engelbrecht
Editing Beate Engelbrecht, Abbas Yousefpour