The Significance of the Mystery Play of Elche for the Local Community

Abstract

This study explores the distinctive collective attitudes among the local community associated with the Mystery Play of Elche, which was designated a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO on 18 May 2001. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive methodology was adopted via in-depth interviews to identify how the local community perceives and experiences this medieval liturgical drama. The results confirm that the fundamental aspects maintaining the relationship between the Mystery Play and the local population involve several factors, such as the type of transmission and how the performance is experienced by different audiences within the community, bearing in mind that it is a dynamic social phenomenon.