On July 9, 2013, the Government of Aragon promulgated the declaration of the Aragonese jota as an Asset of Cultural Interest, agreed with a commission of experts in which all the sectors of the jota in Aragon were represented, from the most traditional jota to the more artistic, including the well-known recreation jota. As a culmination of the work leading to that declaration, the commission established that the next step would be to work on a declaration of the jota as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, jointly with the other Spanish communities in which the jota is sung or danced. This initiative was put on hold for several years but recently the Government of Aragon has taken it up again and has promoted a project to which another 15 Autonomous Communities have enthusiastically joined and which will soon lead to the presentation of the candidacy before the next Historical Heritage Council , which will be held in Zaragoza on October 25 and 26.
The Government of Aragon, aware of the magnitude and significance of this project, has not delegated its representation to just anyone: it is the Aragonese dancer and choreographer Miguel Ángel Berna, who has carried the jota on stages around the world, the visible figure of this project in Aragon. Thus, Berna will be the protagonist of the show El Arte de la Jota, which has been programmed on the occasion of the meeting in Zaragoza of the Historical Heritage Council. The show will be held on October 25, 2022, at 9:00 p.m., in the Zaragoza Auditorium, and great figures of the song and dance of the jota in Aragon will participate, accompanied by a cast of extraordinary musicians.
