The BOEMIA POTIGUAR FOOD: food style, local identity and sociability.
Food; Bohemia; Bars.
The "Cidade Alta", the first political, administrative and commercial center of the city of Natal, now abandoned as a living space, is recognized by its nocturnal regulars as a bohemian stronghold. In the nooks and crannies of the city, the bars are frequented by bohemians who meet to eat, drink, discuss politics and listen to music. These establishments offer a "traditional Potiguar cuisine" and a boteco cuisine that refer to the lifestyle of the bohemian whose model refers to the carioca malandro (DAMATTA, 1997). The habitués are more than clients, they form an open family composed by the owners (retired men), university students, left-wing militants, poets and young people who want to get closer to their cultural roots. Street people and tourists also appear in search of a "other Christmas" seen as more authentic and where food and "earthly" values and food are preserved: the prepared dishes and the drinks (meladinha and cerveza) sold in the bars of Seu Zé Reeira, Nazaré and Bar da Meladinha are associated with the local and bohemian identity. (LÉVI-STRAUSS, 2004). The research proposes an analysis of the dishes, the modes of consumption and the sociability as expressions of Bohemian natal identity. From the observation made between the months of February and July 2018, from informal conversations with the regulars of the two bars, from semi-structured interviews with the cooks, we present some reflections that guide the master's research that is being developed.