A series
of conservative conventions linking provincial life to a seeming, capable
consistency. These conventions are strictly respected by the majority of the
people in the country.
The first basic convention is the diptych
family and religion.
On Sunday
mornings the "decent" gentlemen and the "virtuous" ladies join the established congregation as well as
wearing their best clothes to watch all kinds of celebrations. This phenomenon
also happens in Athens
The idea of the "good" family man
is clearly being facilitated in the province.
The
family here it reminds us of the old motif: the couple, the grandchildren, the grandparents, the grandmothers, live close to each other and
support each other.
As a rule, the Greek provinces are very conservative.
Under a mask of decency and defiance, there are well hidden many secrets and numerous malignancies.
In the provinces it is normal to have a
lot of hairdressers, coffee shops, in
almost every square there is one of these shops, but unfortunately there are
few degraded cinemas, and of course there are no spaces for theatrical
performances or cultural centres. There are some groups fighting for cultural
life but I think there is something deeper that does not change with cultural
events which look like folklore and secular events.
The provinces are permeated vertically and horizontally by a
subculture of what some gifted artists and intellectuals aptly report as ''provincialbaroque'' (βλαχομπαρόκ) (Tzimis Panousis, Dionisis Savvopoulos, Manos Hatzidakis, Vasilis
Rafalidis and many others).
This subculture is unfortunately not
easily eradicated, and the responsibility of the political system is enormous
because it has never renounce it and never condemn these phenomena.
In Greek provinces, where people consider
beautiful hair and tinted nails more
important, appearance and money as highest social value.
To be
'someone' in the Greek province, you have to be able to make lots of money in
any way ...For example by selling our beaches and filling them with umbrellas
and deck chairs, selling rivers, mountains, even the sea. Every value is nullified in this
country and that hurts.
