Oral History Interview - Manuel (A Guarda)

In this oral-history interview, Manuel, a heritage guide at Monte Santa Trega and resident of Camposancos (A Guarda), reflects on his lifelong relationship with the mountain as a ritual, social, and archaeological landscape. His testimony explores childhood memories of pilgrimages to Santa Trega, the identity-forming role of the Festas do Monte, and the coexistence of devotional and secular ritual uses of the site. The interview documents traditions associated with the Voto procession, its gendered history and recent transformation, local narratives concerning the Pedra Furada and the Cova da Santa, and the persistence of mouros mythology in the interpretation of the castro landscape. It also provides insight into tourism, heritage mediation practices, and the role of Santa Trega as a central symbolic presence in the everyday life of A Guarda. The interview contributes to the study of ritual landscapes, memory transmission, and local identity within the AntCom research framework.