The paella as a candidature of the food heritage and the “rice with things” as a danger to its safeguarding

Abstract

With this contribution we intend to contribute to a better knowledge, not only of the intangible heritage, but also of the spirit of the 2003 Convention and of the operation of the devices provided by Unesco for its safeguarding. Despite the initial skepticism, food traditions have focused many of the debates on the protection of intangible heritage, which is why they offer us a magnificent showcase to show the paradoxes that surround this type of expression. On the other hand, the avalanche of candidacies for «Intangible Heritage of Humanity», despite the inconsistency of many of them, allows us to identify some tics that are difficult to get rid of, at least as far as their formal presentation is concerned. Without going into prior evaluations of any kind, we propose to reflect on the Valencian paella as a possible candidate for Intangible Heritage of Humanity, when the media have insistently pointed to it. For this, and taking as a starting point press headlines, institutional declarations and the decree of its recognition as Bien de Interés Cultural Inamterial, we place it on the path marked by other gastronomic traditions that have been a milestone in the brief history of this patrimonial category, especially the Neapolitan pizza, the Mediterranean diet and the gastronomic food of the French.