La memoria colectiva en el Barrio El Vergel

Abstract

The city of Cuenca is home to various popular neighborhoods that constitute part of its cultural and historical wealth, with the “El Vergel” neighborhood being a clear example. This urban space is characterized by its variety of social and cultural elements, such as its relevance in identifying its traditional blacksmithing and gastronomy trades, the strong unity between its inhabitants, and its influential historical context in the city. Urban sociological studies have developed approaches to understanding the social dynamics that arise in cities and their sectors, including aspects of places of memory, neighborhood and collective memory, as well as the approach from popular culture. This study is part of the research project: “Implementation of the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape: A methodology for the sustainable planning of the Ingachaca Urban Action Unit in the city of Cuenca,” which I joined for the development of this research. The study focuses on the analysis of how the inhabitants of this neighborhood build, maintain and transmit their neighborhood memory since it is important for the development of their identity and sense of belonging. The final degree work is carried out from a qualitative design, supported by open interviews, non- participant observation and the review of secondary documents. Finally, in view of the conglomerate of results collected, it was possible to show that the results found are developed from the places of memory, traditional trades, the Vergel festivals, its neighborhood organization, the pride of belonging to the neighborhood, family teaching as a transmission of memory, the generational conflict due to the lack of interest of young people and the process of building their memory from experiences, experience and meanings.