Ofício das biscoiteiras: patrimônio cultural imaterial da cidade de Pará de Minas – Minas Gerais

The Municipal Law 5,064, of August 19, 2010, which institutes the registration of intangible cultural assets in the municipality of Pará de Minas, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil, made the craft of cookie makers a local cultural and intangible heritage. Although it is not possible to precisely date the appearance of this art, it is known this knowledge back from at least three generations. This research sought to investigate how the craft of cookie makers in Pará de Minas is maintained nowadays, based on document analysis and interviews with local cookie makers and a specialist with central participation in the process. The results highlight the feminine centrality in the execution of the craft and the perpetuation of this knowledge, with the recent insertion of a few men in the work. The distinctions between domestic and commercial production of the craft of cookie makers have also become evident, with some of the difficulties for maintaining the craft today. Some efforts to perpetuate the art were observed by the municipal government, but they are still not sufficient to provide the necessary support for cookie makers and cookie stores. The relevance of the process of safeguarding the art for its perpetuation and of keeping the knowledge alive in the new generations is verified, being the transfer of a portion of the cultural ICMS one of the fundamental municipalization policies of the cultural heritage protection.