Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana

Memories, citizenship, and interculturality in contexts of Violence and resistance in Latin America

2025-10-01T13:04:48+00:00

The dossier Cultural Heritage, Memories, Citizenship and Interculturality in Contexts of Violence and Resistance in Latin America brings together a wide range of reflections and case studies that reveal how heritage and memory are not static objects but dynamic and contested fields of meaning, struggle, and transformation. In contexts marked by structural, symbolic, and material violence, these processes emerge as practices of resistance, identity affirmation, and collective resilience. The contributions address theoretical genealogies of memory, representations of gender and violence in Mexican cinema, youth perceptions of democracy in Guerrero, community-based heritage practices, indigenous religiosity, community radio, feminist visual narratives, school memories of bullying, archives of resistance, and human rights struggles. They are complemented by critical analyses of neoliberal symbolic violence, urban artistic expressions in Acapulco, and decolonial perspectives on heritage. Together, the articles map out the disputes, practices, and imaginaries through which Latin America faces its violent past and present while reimagining its future. This dossier thus constitutes an interdisciplinary and situated space that highlights the power of memory and cultural heritage as political tools for justice, intercultural dialogue, and the construction of alternative forms of citizenship.

Echoes of memory: theoretical genealogies from Latin America

2025-10-01T10:47:56+00:00

The purpose of this essay is to describe some of the main lines in of research in the field of memory studies, establishing potential avenues for further exploration. To this end, the essay presents an overview of existing theoretical frameworks, originating from Europe and applied in Latin America, before delving into the thematic interests from the 1980s to 2023. Finally, it showcases recent Works that link literatura with memory, which have been absent in the Latin American field due to a lack of translation into Spanish. In other words, it proposes a journey though the transformations that have shaped the field of memory in Latin America to reflect on how studies for memory retrieval in the academic field have evolved in two aspects: 1) theoretical production and 2) thematic research interests. It argues that studies on remembrance have focused on the experience of authoritarian political regimes (dictatorships), excluding research conducted in the field of literatura.

Motherhood, orphanhood, and violence in mexican cinema through an analysis of the film

2025-10-02T00:27:04+00:00

The objective of this article is to analyze the representation of motherhood in Mexican Golden Age cinema, based on three films whose female characters reproduce or challenge the traditional model of the mother, inherited from 19th-century narrative, as angelic, protective, and self-sacrificing women (Gilbert and Gubar, 1998). This work presents a critical review of three films that highlight models of motherhood determined by the urban context, education, and social circumstances. Furthermore, it problematizes the theme of motherhood as an exercise in other feminine attitudes that emanate from oppression and marginalization. Finally, it presents the cinema of Mexico's Golden Age and its contribution to reinforcing complex and contradictory traditional narratives in contexts that have been historically marked by violence, poverty, and gender inequality.

Education, youth citizenship, democracy and memory: perceptions of high school students in Guerrero (2025)

2025-10-02T00:29:02+00:00

The research aimed to explore and describe how young people from the port of Acapulco, high school students belonging to the Subsystem of Public Universities of the State of Guerrero, specifically in the Municipality of Acapulco de Juárez, connect certain ideas (civil, political, social rights, democracy, political equality, social justice, violence), with youth citizenship. Hypothesis: Values and ideas such as human rights, the right to be elected and to choose, political equality, citizenship and democracy, along with social, criminal and political violence derived from the actions of the factual powers related to narcopolitics, simultaneously influence the development of an alternative youth citizenship, from which they perceive themselves and politically perceive and evaluate adult citizens. Methodology: Two research techniques were applied: 1) The survey (of quantitative origin) and; 2) The semi-structured interview (of qualitative origin). Both instruments were administered during the month of May 2025. The sample was theoretical, not probabilistic. The criteria were: high school students from the Autonomous University of Guerrero subsystem, age (14–19 years), gender, and urban/rural origin. The sample was limited by available time, financial resources, and the social and political context generated by the strike of the National Coordinator of Education Workers (CNTE). A total of 304 surveys were conducted, each with a gender and year of study that reflected the composition of the student population. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted using the snowball technique.

Nearby Heritage: a proposal to preserve our cultural legacies from community perspectives

2025-10-02T00:31:41+00:00

This article explores the tension that arises in the binomial framework proposed by cultural policies focused on the study and preservation of cultural legacies, understood as "tangible and intangible" or "immaterial and tangible" cultural heritage. It suggests that there are cultural practices whose reproduction requires both material and narrative support, so their preservation does not necessarily fall within this heritage binomial. Using a critical reading of cultural policies and reflections arising from practical experience as a methodology, it is found that certain human creations are subject to heritage recognition. This excludes other creations that are of lesser interest in the face of global trends or national culture, but which play a close role in community life. As an intercultural approach, it is proposed to understand these processes from the perspective of the affective and communal ties of interpretation and management of cultural legacies, that is, as "close heritages."

Religious syncretism and cultural heritage of the Ñuu Savi Jicayán de Tovar

2025-10-02T00:33:17+00:00

Religious fusion is addressed around the existing social imaginaries of the cultural heritage of the indigenous community. The objective was to analyze religious syncretism through the recovery of the historical memory of the cultural heritage of the Ñuu Na Savi political community from the perspective of symbolic interactionism in territorial settings. Through the ethnographic method, social actors were connected with objects that are part of religious expressions that produce symbols and meanings to understand and describe everyday experiences, local knowledge in the socio-territorial processes of appropriation by the inhabitants. It is crucial to preserve intangible heritage through stewardships to ensure cultural diversity that can strengthen identities and resist the pressures of globalization.

Heritage, cultural memory and resistance of community radio stations

2025-10-02T00:34:52+00:00

This article describes and explores the role of the cultural memory of the groups that operate the programming of two community radio stations of social and intercultural communication that use internet platforms for their dissemination: Radio Tsinaka (https://radiotsinaka.org/), and Radio Zapata (https://www.goteo.org/project/radio-zapata), located in the state of Guerrero and Puebla. It is theorized that these radio stations are decolonial devices of resistance and affirmation of their material and immaterial cultural heritage by having programming developed in their native languages. This allows them to position themselves as subjects of cultural resistance to the cultural onslaughts arising from globalization and its social networks and to reaffirm their traditional and collective knowledge, primarily that of the women who participate in the production of their radio programs and projects that seek to build citizenship and combat patriarchal and racist exclusions toward Indigenous peoples, and to organize resistance to these hegemonic projects through collaboration, participation, training, and the promotion of projects built by communities and Afro-descendants.

Neoliberalism, globalization and symbolic violence: a web of power and resistance

2025-10-02T00:36:13+00:00

This essay explores how neoliberalism, globalization, and symbolic violence shape the landscape of diasporic experiences, and how these communities deploy forms of resistance that redefine memory and identity. The study introduces the concept of Resilient Confluence of Identities, defined as the capacity of migrant communities to transform, reinterpret, and expand their cultural identities through a dynamic dialogue between their traditions of origin and the influences of the host environment. This phenomenon manifests itself in the redefinition of heritage—particularly in gastronomy, art, and literature—emerging as a strategy to counter cultural commodification and hegemonic models. Based on the theoretical frameworks of Homi K. Bhabha and Stuart Hall, the essay ultimately challenges the perception of culture as a passive element within market-driven dynamics and instead conceptualizes it as a field of struggle and social transformation. In a world where power structures are constantly being reconfigured, the resistance expressed through the Resilient Confluence of Identities demonstrates that memory and identity can act as transformative forces, challenging entrenched inequalities and redefining the meaning of progress and belonging in a globalized society.

Women, walls and memory: visual narratives of Guerrero feminism

2025-10-02T00:38:09+00:00

This article explores how feminist murals created in Guerrero between 2019 and 2024 contribute to the construction of collective memory and feminist cultural heritage from a decolonial and descolonial perspective. In a context marked by femicides, forced marriages, displacement, and environmental crises, urban art emerges as a form of social protest and transformation. Using a qualitative methodology with a feminist narrative approach, the creative dynamics and production processes of the murals are examined from the perspective of the artists and communities. The findings reveal that these artistic expressions redefine public space and articulate affect, pedagogy, and political action. In emergency contexts, such as Hurricane Otis or the fight for legal abortion, the murals act as community accompaniment. It is concluded that feminist muralism in Guerrero generates symbolic territories of visual resistance and actively contributes to cultural transformation from a collective and aesthetic perspective.

Memories of violence among public secondary school students in Acapulco (2000–2025)

2025-10-02T00:39:40+00:00

The objective of this research is to explore the consequences of violence and bullying in shaping critical subjectivities (active and rebellious youth citizenship) in the memories of affected individuals, particularly those in public secondary schools in Acapulco. It theorizes that today's secondary school students construct a critical memory and an active and rebellious citizenship in the face of structural violence, institutional neglect, and educational insecurity. Pedagogies of memory were examined as tools for political resistance and citizenship building. A mixed methodology was employed, including surveys, interviews, documentary analysis, and a literature review. It also proposes an articulation between critical theory, emancipatory pedagogy, and empirical data analysis to understand the phenomenon of bullying as part of a broader framework of structural violence. The study highlights the active role of youth in the production of insurgent memories, their capacity for agency in adverse contexts, and the urgency of a comprehensive educational and community response. The research seeks to contribute to the formulation of public policies that are sensitive to the local context and to the transformation of schools into spaces of care and justice. Finally, the paper reflects on the need for an affective pedagogy that recognizes youth memories as tools of cultural and political resistance. The methodology used consisted of a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative methods (structured surveys of high school students) and qualitative methods (in-depth interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis).

Memory, citizenship, exile, and human rights in Latin America: from the Chilean coup d’état to the 43 of Ayotzinapa. The struggle against oblivion (1973–2025)

2025-10-02T00:41:05+00:00

This article examines memory as a field of political, cultural, and ethical struggle in Latin America between 1973 and 2025, linking it to citizenship, exile, postmemory, and human rights activism. Drawing on key authors such as Jelin, Nora, Sarlo, Hirsch, and Ricoeur, it argues that memory is an active social practice that confronts institutional oblivion, reinterprets the past, and acts upon the present. The analysis includes emblematic cases such as the Memory, Truth and Justice process in Argentina, the Truth Commission in Peru, and the Ayotzinapa case in Mexico, highlighting how memory connects to collective action, critical pedagogy, and transnational networks. Exile is approached as a space for political reorganization and circulation of ideas, while the role of new generations in building counter-hegemonic narratives is also addressed. Finally, the article warns about the impact of neoliberalism on the erosion of rights and the depoliticization of memory. It concludes that memory is an essential ethical and political horizon for strengthening inclusive democracies and combating impunity.

Cultural Resistance: Visual Narratives of Violence that Construct Collective Memory in Acapulco 2018-2025

2025-10-02T00:42:30+00:00

This article analyzes the cultural resistance that builds collective memory through visual narratives about violence and resilience in Acapulco. This article uses an ethnomethodological analysis of the artistic production of six local visual artists between 2018 and 2025. It is theorized that these works reflect and question the dynamics of violence in the region, while constructing discourses of cultural resistance and resilience. It also explores the relationship that emerges between violence and artistic production. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach, utilizing in-depth interviews with six Acapulco visual artists, complemented by an iconographic analysis of their works. The results reveal that the works function as visual testimonies of everyday violence, but also as tools for community denunciation and empowerment, framed within a critical and epistemological decolonial horizon. This approach, developed by Walsh & Mignolo (2018), questions colonial power structures and reclaims other knowledges, situating artistic creation as a political act of resistance. The artists highlight the importance of their work in the construction of collective memory and in the visibility of social struggles (Barroso Tristán, 2017), thus aligning themselves with the principles of decoloniality, which conceives art as a transformative praxis and a space for reexistence.

The decolonial theoretical turn on cultural heritage in Latin America: the macro-meso critical link

2025-10-02T00:45:25+00:00

This essay aims to provide a critical overview of the main theories aimed at describing, explaining and understanding the production, crystallization and articulation of cultural heritage. In this sense, it is assumed that the societal context determines the ideas and theories that scientific communities develop to describe, explain and understand the configuration of cultural heritage from the following levels: 1) As cultural institutions; 2) As cultural processes and; 3) From their critical agencies, generating a meso / macro link in the configuration of critical theories on cultural heritage, where the interrelations and the intervention of the cleavages of exclusion (class, gender, race and age), questioned from decolonial reason, allow us to give a theoretical twist to traditional functional / structuralist approaches and see cultural heritage as a disputed political cultural arena, where our cultural identities are woven and realized. In this sense, it is theorized that a critical approach contributes to positioning cultural heritage as a means of cultural resistance and peacebuilding in regions ravaged by everyday and structural violence. Thus, cultural heritage becomes a space of resilience and resistance for the excluded, but above all, a symbolic space of memory and hope for societies subjugated by the violence generated by the so-called powers that be.

Resistance and interculturality

2025-10-02T00:48:01+00:00

Resistance is considered intercultural, within a territorial space determined by the locality and the Mesoamerican cultural region, over a long period of time. Therefore, Chontal culture is not univocal, as it exists within a context of globality and with actions promoting compatibility. Socioeconomics, agroecology, and geopolitics go hand in hand with interculturality, with a historical and theoretical methodological basis, proposing some reflections on the compatibility of local and global knowledge, where diachrony and synchrony go hand in hand with the locality of San Andrés Tuxpan, that is, from the pre-Hispanic to the current, without neglecting the viceregal period. This allows for some general conclusions to be drawn for contemporary analysis with glocal survival strategies, such as conservation zones, education, experimentation, community-rooted identity, and the implementation of alternative programs.

Memory, Archives of Resistance, and the Role of CAMeNA: Interview with Beatriz Torres Abelaira

2025-10-02T00:50:37+00:00

This article presents an interview with Beatriz Torres Abelaira, a Chilean exile and founder of the Centro Académico de la Memoria de Nuestra América (CAMeNA) at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). The conversation traces her biography, marked by the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, her exile, arrival in Mexico, and her work in recovering, organizing, and disseminating archives related to historical memory and human rights struggles in Latin America. Torres recounts the acquisition of the Gregorio Selser archive as the cornerstone of CAMeNA, as well as the incorporation of emblematic collections such as those of General Gallardo, Ernesto Capuano, Sergio Méndez Arce, the Comité ¡Eureka!, and various LGBT archives. The text highlights memory as a political battleground and a tool of resistance against silences imposed by authoritarian regimes and limited democratic transitions. It also reflects on the importance of guaranteeing free access to archives, understood as instruments of truth and justice, and of preserving a documentary heritage that contributes to building a history narrated from the voices of the oppressed.

Reseña de: BIZBERG, Ilán, coord. (2025). Variedades de Capitalismos: del fin del auge de las materias primas a la pandemia. México: Cátedra Jorge Alonso

2025-10-01T11:43:42+00:00

El libro examina desde una amplia perspectiva espacial y temporal las grandes trasformaciones de los diversos tipos de capitalismo que han prevalecido en distintos países de América Latina en las últimas décadas, las consecuencias que han tenido en la economía, la sociedad y la política y algunos posibles escenarios sobre el futuro.

Reseña de: REDING BLASE, Sofía. SALAS ASTRAIN, Ricardo. (2024). Exponer al peligro o conjurar la crisis: desafíos éticos-políticos ante el neoliberalismo en América Latina. México, UNAM

2025-10-01T11:47:19+00:00

El libro llamado “Exponer al peligro o conjurar la crisis: desafíos éticos-políticos ante el neoliberalismo en América Latina” escrito por Sofía Reding Blase y Ricardo Salas Astrain, se erige como un espacio de reflexión crítica, un crisol donde convergen diversas disciplinas para abordar la compleja noción de justicia en el contexto latinoamericano. La obra, fruto de la colaboración de dos filósofos políticos, nos enfrenta a una disyuntiva que conecta los extremos de nuestra vasta patria americana, instándonos a documentar la devastación que han sufrido los territorios nacionales.

Libro completo: BIZBERG, Ilán, coord. (2025). Variedades de Capitalismos: del fin del auge de las materias primas a la pandemia. México: Cátedra Jorge Alonso

2025-10-02T00:58:50+00:00