‘José Pina E Maribela’
‘José Pina E Maribela’

A Narrative Song About A True Suicide Pact

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study is to understand how communities hold onto memories through ballads and folk songs, especially when they relate to social issues, and will use a Portuguese narrative song based on a true event to examine this and other related matters. On 13 September 1914, a boy and girl from different socio-economic classes enacted a suicide pact because their families disapproved of their love. The violent death of these youngsters imprinted a strong impression on the small Portuguese community where it happened. The case was perpetuated in the narrative song, ‘José Pina e Maribela’, that spread throughout the years to various regions where it was collected. Based on fifteen versions of this song, this paper analyses how and what facts of the event were kept by the collective memory of the community and identifies the narrative invariance of the song and the variants that occur in these versions. The paper also refers to the appropriation of ‘José Pina e Maribela’ by some regional entities, creating a constructed memory as a touristic product, as opposed to the natural process of transmission of traditional literature, which accepts variation.

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