Abstract
This study stems from the premise that there is a particular mode of devotional relationship for the people of Pará to the mythical figure of Maria de Nazaré, mother of Jesus. Also known as ‘Naza’, ‘Nazica’, ‘Nazinha’, these diminuitives of the original name, express affection for the Saint, and contribute to the strengthening of ties of identity and belonging, evidenced in the many festivals in honor of this Patron Saint of Pará, in the North of Brazil. These manifestations, marked by their informality, are continually mobilized through connections between language, religiosity, culture and media. The theoretical basis for this work relies on the concepts of Muniz Sodré (2006), who, flagging the urgency for adopting new interpretive mechanisms in the field of communication, defends the need to attempt to “the diversity of the nature of exchanges” and their “powerful devices for affection”. Depositions collected on sites, blogs and social network pages, as well as in the lyrics of two songs and a video clip, comprise the set of objects analyzed by the authors.
Keywords
Communication; Culture; Identity; Affection; Círio of Nazaré
