Between memories of Portugal and Africa: the heritage policies in the port area of ​​Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

  • Roberta Sampaio Guimarães Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-Brasil
Keywords: Memory, Cultural heritage, Urban projects, African-Brazilian identity, Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This article analyzes the effects of Brazilian urbanization and cultural heritage enhancement policies on the physical and symbolic configuration of urban spaces, focusing on the Rio de Janeiro City Council’s contemporary interventions in the port area as well as the counter-discourses, resistances and reconciliations raised by these actions. Social groups that self-identify as African-Brazilian articulate memories regarding the African slaves market and confronted the City Council when it valued the memory of Portuguese colonization in their cultural heritage actions. In reflecting on heritage policies, I explore the hypothesis that any imagination process regarding a historic site, whether designated Portuguese or Afro-Brazilian, affects self-awareness of the townspeople and generates unforeseen political and social processes.

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Author Biography

Roberta Sampaio Guimarães, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro-Brasil
Doctora en Antropología Cultural, Profesora Adjunta e Investigadora del Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y del Programa de Postgrado en Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Estado de Río de Janeiro (UERJ), Río de Janeiro, Brasil.
Published
2016-12-19
How to Cite
Guimarães, R. S. (2016). Between memories of Portugal and Africa: the heritage policies in the port area of ​​Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cuadernos De antropología Social, (44), 51-66. https://doi.org/10.34096/cas.i44.3580
Section
Espacio Abierto - Artículos Originales