Places of memory in ruins and death's patrimonialization in Santiago and Bogotá

Abstract

The article analyses the ruinous destiny and patrimonial strategies of two places used in contexts of violence: Patio 29 of the General Cemetery of Santiago de Chile and the niches of the Columbarios of the Central Cemetery of Bogotá in Colombia. The premise underlying this article is that although heritage administrations are inspired by a positivist idea of memory, they have been ineffective in avoiding processes of ruinification of both places. This investigation shows that there are natural and social processes that contradict patrimonial principles, leading to ruin as an outcome. In the tension between patrimonial principles and social processes, the ruin, due to its controversial nature, historicizes the places and allows to update the narratives around the memory. The article concludes that ruins – as materiality, affect and narrative memory – are an expression of these contradictions within society.