Protects traditions and customs as intangible cultural heritage

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law requires public authorities to safeguard intangible cultural heritage: oral traditions, festivals, music, dance, gastronomy, crafts and other practices that communities recognize as part of their culture.
2. Every safeguarding action must respect principles such as equality, participation by the carrying communities, accessibility and sustainability. Tourism must not harm the essence of cultural expressions.
3. The State may declare an item a Manifestación Representativa del Patrimonio Cultural Inmaterial (Representative Manifestation of Intangible Cultural Heritage) by Royal Decree, for example when a tradition spans more than one Autonomous Community. The deadline to decide is twelve months, and no answer means denial.
4. Two tools are created: a National Safeguarding Plan, valid for ten years and reviewed after five, and a General Inventory that will gather information from all public administrations and will be open to the public.
5. The law protects heritage against plunder and export, promotes passing on trades at risk of extinction with tax incentives, and asks education authorities and universities to include this heritage in their teaching.
6. The Spanish Historical Heritage Law is amended to include intangible items, and the Government is authorized to produce within one year a consolidated text combining both laws.

Who it affects

• Communities, groups and individuals who keep traditions, festivals, music or crafts: Their role as the main players is recognized, and they can request a declaration.
• Public administrations (State, Autonomous Communities and local councils): They must apply safeguarding, outreach and cooperation measures in their areas.
• Education authorities and universities: They must include intangible heritage in their teaching and teacher training.
• Tourism operators and cultural activity managers: Their activities cannot alter the essence of protected expressions.

Words worth knowing

Patrimonio cultural inmaterial (intangible cultural heritage)

Traditions, expressions and knowledge a community lives and passes on, such as festivals, music or food, as opposed to buildings or objects.

Salvaguardia (safeguarding)

Measures to keep a tradition alive and transmissible, not just preserve it as it is.

Expolio (plunder)

The theft, deterioration or loss of the social function of a cultural item.

Texto refundido (consolidated text)

A single law that gathers and organizes several laws on the same subject.

Silencio desestimatorio (negative administrative silence)

If the administration does not answer in time, the request is considered denied.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries