LEISURE IN AGING

PRACTICES AND SPACES EXPERIENCED BY ELDERLY PEOPLE ON COTIJUBA ISLAND (BELÉM, PA)

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the leisure practices experienced by elderly people in the context of Cotijuba Island (PA). The adopted methodology, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, employed data collection tools such as questionnaires, informal conversations, and direct observations with elderly men and women on the Island. The results identified 56 leisure practices, ranging from domestic chores to physical, social, spiritual, and recreational activities. This variety demonstrates that the understanding of leisure for the elderly in Cotijuba goes beyond conventional and rigid definitions, such as the polarization between work and leisure. These leisure practices are influenced by cultural, social, economic, and environmental specificities, where local traditions, the value of domestic work, group socialization, and connection with nature are central, but they face challenges due to the growing dependence on tourism, which limits, transforms, and reduces the spaces and options for leisure among the island’s elderly. Although the elderly of Cotijuba have a range of leisure practices, there is an urgent need to expand institutional support so that their rights as elderly people and to leisure are fully respected.