The Fishermen’s Beach: Cultural Heritage and Contested Identity in a Touristic Place
Eliseu Carbonell

Abstract
This paper analyzes the relationship between maritime heritage and identity in a coastal town of Catalonia (Spain) which was a fishermen’s town until tourism gradually became the main economic activity (1960-1980). In summer 2007 there were actions to recover the maritime heritage of the beach and, simultaneously, there was a popular movement against the construction of a seafront promenade. Both actions affect the main beach of the town known as The Fishermen’s Beach transformed by locals into cultural heritage. Analysis of ethnographical fieldwork data leads to the conclusion that the process of converting the beach into heritage emerges in a context of negotiation of identities by local actors, with the tourism industry as backdrop, and with a clear political dimension.

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