Indigenous people in urban contexts: Canaris, otavaleños and saraguros in the city of Cuenca (Ecuador) [Indígenas en contextos urbanos. Cañaris, otavaleños y saraguros en la ciudad de Cuenca (Ecuador)]

Abstract

Latin American colonial cities quite often try to conceal the current presence and existence of indigenous communities by placing them in a discourse of a remote and imaginary past that has no connection with the present. In this paper, we study this phenomenon with regard to three different indigenous groups (Cañaris, Saraguros, and Otavaleños) in the city of Cuenca (Ecuador). Our analysis focuses mainly on the instruments and strategies that seek either the visualization or concealment of these indigenous communities in urban contexts.