Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Festa das Latas


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.  

The result was merge and redirect to University of Coimbra. MastCell Talk 20:48, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

Festa das Latas

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This article is an unsourced blurb about a homecoming festival from some Portuguese university. I see nothing to distinguish it from thousands of similar parties across the world. I might as well write an article about the homecoming festival at my own college. VegitaU 23:42, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Perhaps your college is over 700 year old and was the first in your country to establish this tradition. If so, create it right now. You have all my support. Page Up 23:48, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Reply: I never said delete the college, I said delete the party. Oh, it's over 700 years old? Well, I guess that's a free pass to make articles about every festivity and parade and diversion that takes place there. No, not really. And the argument about "my college is better than yours" hardly helps. -- VegitaU 23:54, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
 * You must be informed that Coimbra is an old university town and Festa das Latas, as well as Queima das Fitas, are major cultural events in Coimbra and are widely known across the entire country. Other colleges and universities started to organise similar events after Coimbra (in some cases using other names for the event), so it is a major cultural icon of the town. Coimbra is not famous for a number of other things, but its student festivals and the university are its distintive features and are noted in Portugal. If you will delete a major cultural and historical event of a town, you can also delete all the other references to its history and culture. For example, you can't go to Rio Carnival article and delete it just because a thousand of other cities, towns and villages organise the same festival in Brazil and around the world. Page Up 00:21, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Reply: So basically you just made a WP:OTHERSTUFF and WP:LOCALFAME argument. What I'm saying is that, as I see it, it grossly fails to be notable. It is unsourced and, therefore, unverifiable. Also, a Google Test, while not a definitive argument in itself, gives a general look as to outside notability. In this case, it gives 216 results, mostly in Portuguese. I still advocate deleting this and maybe mentioning it briefly in the college page under culture. -- VegitaU 01:06, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * I disagree and think you are not right, though your POV is perfectly understandable. Try the Google search with Latada and you will get over 67,000 results, since latada is an event organised today in a number of other universities. Then try Latada Coimbra and you will get 15,700 results. The arguments are antiquity, pioneering and cultural significance for the town which is not historically and culturally famous in Portugal (a country) for, lets say carnival, but precisely for those student festivals. However, I suggest one change: add a paragraph explaining that latada is also an event organized today in other Portuguese university cities like Porto and Covilhã. I have nothing left to say about this. The people will decide, I hope. Page Up 02:06, 8 September 2007 (UTC)

(unindent)Reply: This article isn't about "Latada", "Latada Coimbra", or any other Portuguese festivity. This article is about "Festa das Latas", a homecoming parade not unlike many around the world. There is nothing to distinguish it above others. The fact that it may be a big deal in that town doesn't identify it as exceptional. Homecoming parades are big deals in every town where they're held. At Oxford, Harvard, and my own college; people come out to celebrate and welcome alumni back. They go to games, they view parades, they dance, and the have fun. Sorry, but the argument that a local town parade where you tie tin cans to the freshmen's legs is comparable to Mardi Gras or Carnival doesn't wash. -- VegitaU 02:33, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Merge into University of Coimbra. It's not very distinguishable, but I believe that it deserves a little mention. - Lemonflash (do something)  23:46, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Merge There's plenty of room on the school page for this subject. MarkBul 02:40, 8 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Portugal-related deletions.   -- John Vandenberg 15:35, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep or Merge into University of Coimbra. This festival is well known in Portugal, it's probably better to save this info. -- Hús  ö  nd  16:54, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Reply: Another WP:LOCALFAME argument. Got any sources to verify that this "tin-can" festival is notably famous in Portugal? Because our homecoming week here is quite a celebration and I'm wondering what distinguishes it from this. The fact the college is so old is not an argument. Notability is not inherited just because a foundation has been around for years. -- VegitaU 17:19, 10 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Keep. After the changes, the article isn't about Coimbra's Festa das Latas alone. It describes the university student's festival which is yearly organised in several Portuguese university towns in the beginning of the academic year with this same designation, a Latada parade and the tradition of having cans tied to the freshmen's legs. It could be expanded later to show the other cities singularities. Page Up 20:21, 11 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Comment: User above is the only contributor to the article. And I thought you "had nothing left to say" about this? Furthermore, the article is still about the homecoming festival for your school, in all its unsourced and unnotable glory. The one "travel brochure" you cited doesn't mention anything about this being a nationally-known festival. I recommend that you delete this and merge a little of it into the culture segment of the college page. -- VegitaU 20:31, 11 September 2007 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.