Recovery of the Historical Memory of Cuenca at the beginning of the 20th century

The project for the recovery of the historical memory of Cuenca in the early twentieth century aims to face at a crucial moment for the cultural history of the city the phenomenon of the accelerated loss of the historical memory of the city. The first half of the twentieth century has been considered as a conforming stage of a new vision of the world that, based on traditional forms of culture, is shown, for the first time, of cosmopolitan elements that are contrasted with the cultural and social reality of Cuenca. Through a field research process, supported by bibliographic research, the recovery of basin life events will face, as perceived by their population. In this sense, the research team will interview basins and people from outside Cuenca, who can represent a valid sample, to collect their memoirs. In this process, special emphasis will be placed on the need to achieve information in various social groups to incorporate the various versions is the local memory. To properly train the research team and discuss the scope of the process, an oral history workshop will be held for a week. These elements of the memory will be collated with sources written at the time, with graphic documents, photography and other means of registration to "recreate" an emic vision of the basin of the first half of the twentieth century. The Final Research Report will take the elements investigated to configure a comprehensive text whose character incorporates local reality at the time investigated and becomes an easy text and pleasant understanding for the locals. Additionally, it is intended to publish the text that collects these visions and these documents so that they can circulate as part of the contemporary basin culture. The design and diagramming of the publication will be carefully planned. On the other hand, the organization of an exhibition that collects the results, and for which it is intended to achieve external financing, will allow to disseminate the results of the investigation into various cultural and community centers, in this exhibition it will be incorporated into the social actors so that it is, in reality, the reflection of a way of seeing the world, which configured the basin of the early twentieth century and therefore becomes a significant event for the city.

1st UNIVERSITY RESEARCH PROJECT COMPETITION