Prestige, art and auction at the patron saint's party

Abstract

The article explores the meaning and the relations of prestige in Borá, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, based on the ethnography of the Santo Antonio feast, a patron saint honored since the beginning of the settlement by the pioneer families. The descendants of these pioneers are protagonists in the organization of the feast and are proud of the tradition of preparing the leitoas (litter ewe lambs) and of the prestige that attracts the local elites. If the "rich" are interested in the auctions, the poor and the arrastados (native category applied to the sugarcane mill workers) want to try their "luck" in the drawing of the lasses (or hope that luck "finds" them), "enjoy the party", meet women and appreciate the "movement" in the small town. Considering the role of "party-goer", the valorization of skills and techniques in the art of preparing the suckling pigs, the markers of class and leisure experiences, we try to think about the several social arts and their plots in the world of parties.