Patricios Stands United (Patricios Unidos de Pie): Impacts of a rural tourism community theater project, Patricios, Argentina

This ethnographic study examines the impacts of a rural community theater project Patricios Unidos de Pie (Patricios Stands United) on theater participants and the wider local community. The context for the study is Patricios, an Argentine pueblo located 161 miles southwest of Buenos Aires. The community is currently in the process of developing a community-based tourism project to cater to visitors who attend community theater festivals in the town. The main framework that situates this study is the literature on participatory development; in particular, studies focusing on theater as a tool for development or Theater for Development (TfD). The study is based on ethnographic data and quantitative surveys collected between June and August 2007. The impacts of the project are analyzed by focusing on two main areas: the effects of the theater group on participants, and the effects of the theater group project on the community at large. Findings suggest that the community members involved with the project received several benefits from their participation, including: a stronger sense of community; therapeutic effects; and heightened feelings of pride, empowerment, and hope for the future. This study also suggests that increased numbers of visitors and publicity generated by the theater project have caused an increase in citizen involvement and encouraged local rural tourism development projects, which to some degree have helped stimulate the economy.