Abstract
This article aims to discuss the institutionalization of the heritage of the African diaspora in the port region of Rio de Janeiro, by reflecting on the actions and meanings developed around the archaeological findings of a slave trade pier, the Valongo Pier. We show how, in a given historic and sociopolitical context, relationships enacted by some institutionalized groups of actors end up converging, recognizing the importance of the institutionalization of this memory. We believe that this process occurs in the intersection of two phenomena: a) the recognition of the multiculturalism and the ethnic-racial diversity in Brazil; b) the urban processes of revitalization lead by the city council. We concentrate our analyses in three main groups of actors: black movement activists, academic searchers and municipality’s representatives. We try to show how these actors produce the site of Valongo Pier as the main material reference of the slave trade diaspora in the country.
Keywords
African diaspora; heritage building; multiculturalism; urban revitalization
