Memory and urban heritage transition in the post-dictatorial city. The case of the Sitio de Memoria ex Fuerte El Morro
Authors
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José Miguel Fuentes Zuleta
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5081-7524
Abstract
During the political transition from the end of the dictatorship to the return of democracy, there were social changes and processes, among which the emergence
of memory, driven by human rights organizations, stands out. In this context, after the dictatorship, heritage began to acquire a new character, leading to the development of human rights and memory heritage. This evoked counter-narratives and produced a change in the way heritage had been understood before the return to democracy, both in the valuation of new attributes and in the inclusion of civil society as a promoter in the requests for patrimonialization.
In this context, the present article seeks to analyze how memory, through its uses and functions in the production of space, plays a role in the transition over urban heritage in the post-dictatorial city, with the Sitio de Memoria ex Fuerte El Morro, in the commune of Talcahuano, as a case study. It is argued that the declaration of El Morro as a historical monument represents a re-signification of the space, which has shifted from being a non-place to becoming a site of memory, a transition understood within the context of difficult heritage.
