Heritage, tourism and development: a study on the rise of Saint Sebastian in Olivenca, Ilheus-Bahia.

This study presents and discusses the results of the field experience held in Olivenca (Ilheus-BA), where the relationship between tourism and cultural heritage was investigated, emphasizing the social processes corresponding to the construction of belonging to intangible heritage. Focusing on the celebration of the Feast of St. Sebastian of Olivenca, the symbolic appropriation of the cultural heritage by the community is discussed, from a perspective of endogenous tourism development. The present study is part of the "Heritage, Tourism and Local Development" discipline linked to the UNESCO Cultural, Tourism and Development Chair s study network and offered by the Postgraduate programs in Social Change and Political Participation and Postgraduate Studies in Tourism of the University of Sao Paulo. This is an exploratory descriptive research with bibliographical analysis, field research and testimony collection. Analyzing the work of the Associacao dos Machadeiros de Olivenca (AMAO), a community entity responsible for organizing the celebration of San Sebastian, the study identifies an endogenous movement of appropriation of the patrimony.