In this paper I would like to present a triadic approach to the understanding and management of cultural diversity that takes into account three dimensions: (i) cultural practices and meanings developed by different social groups in a given locality; (ii) cultural rights of the different social groups to perform these cultural practices; and (iii) cultural freedom of individuals to follow, to transform and/or to abandon the cultural practices of their referential group.
I will apply this scheme to the cultural diversity brought by Bulgarian migrants in the context of two Spanish cities (Burgos and Bilbao), by looking at: (i) the contribution of Bulgarian migrants to linguistic and religious diversity (Bulgarian language, Cyrillic alphabet, Islam, Christian Orthodoxy); (ii) the ways in which these cultural practices have been managed by the local authorities and by Bulgarians themselves (e.g. official Bulgarian courses); and (iii) the possibilities open to Bulgarian individuals to continue these cultural practices and/or to abandon them in the migratory context.
The main aim of the paper is to provide an empirical analysis to the triadic model in order to ascertain the extent to which cultural diversity brought by migrants is acknowledged in the local context, the role of local governments in granting cultural rights to migrant populations as well as migrants’ free will to maintain and/or to alter their pre-migratory cultural allegiances.
