José Antonio Perales Díaz
Research and Cultural Heritage Outreach
I hold a PhD in Anthropology from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a degree in Information Sciences from the University of Navarra.
My professional career combines academic research, university teaching, journalism and audiovisual production, with a particular focus on cultural heritage, borders, migration, and territorial identities.
My research has focused on border festivals, cross-border migration, recreational sport, environmental anthropology, and festive rituals. I have participated in research projects in Spain and France and have carried out research and teaching stays at universities in Bordeaux, Pau and Corsica.
I have presented academic papers at international conferences held in cities including Mexico City, Bordeaux, Lisbon, Madrid, Granada, Valencia, Salamanca, Perpignan and the Aosta Valley in Italy.
Among my academic publications is the article Festive Leisure and Rural Sports in th the Basque Mugak: Sare and Etxalar cases published in the Journal of Borderlands Studies.
As a university lecturer, accredited by ANECA as Profesor Contratado Doctor (Senior Lecturer), I have taught courses in social and cultural anthropology, cultural diversity, political anthropology, kinship, social structure and ethnomusicology.
Since 2008, I have taught at UNED and the Public University of Navarre. I have also participated in university outreach programmes focusing on ethnic minorities, the anthropology of work and leisure, and the cultural heritage of Navarre.
Since 2019, I have collaborated with the Chair of Intangible Heritage at the Public University of Navarre, where I am responsible for the Rituals section.
My work focuses on researching, documenting and promoting Navarre’s intangible cultural heritage.
I currently lead the Water and Memory project, an initiative developed in different locations across Navarre to recover and preserve knowledge, practices and stories connected with water and collective memory.
I have published written and photographic features in media outlets including El País Semanal, El Mundo, GEO, Altair, Cambio 16, Concejo, Conocer Navarra and Diario de Navarra.
Between 2002 and 2022, I produced a series of features for Diario de Navarra focusing on the region’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
This work was recognised with the 2011 Teobaldo Journalism Award and the 2016 Tomás Belzunegui Written Journalism Award.
My outreach work has also extended into the audiovisual field.
In 1991, I took part in the production of the documentary Ponte en su piel, which focused on the fight against racism and xenophobia.
I later directed the documentary short film Les hirondelles (Ainarak / Las golondrinas), focusing on the migration experiences of women from Navarre and Aragon in Soule, France, with the support of the Public University of Navarre.
