Social uses of cultural heritage within the process of touristification in the municipality of Navarro (Buenos Aires province ). The case of pulperias and general stores

Abstract

This article seeks to reflect on the social uses of cultural heritage taking as a case study the grocery stores and general stores in the district of Navarro, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The research is the result of the author's master's thesis, whose field work was carried out in the summer of 2020-2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the various difficulties of the case, it was possible to conduct interviews with the managers of seven grocery stores and general stores in the Navarro district and with representatives of the municipal public sector; surveys of fifty clients of said establishments; and based on non-participant observation, added to what was collected in interviews, survey sheets were prepared for each establishment based on the ICOMOS model. In conclusion, it is proposed to direct efforts to the observation, care and sharing of those culturally alive assets thanks to the custom of those who inhabit them daily, with the social use of heritage being what can guide the cultural heritage management process, which without a doubt needs to have a participatory perspective that points to the democratization of heritage use, which allows the local to be a participant in the future of its heritage, a decision-making agent and reference around which to trace the paths of use and preservation.