Abstract
This paper presents the results of a research project carried out in Portomarín, a small town in Galicia (Spain), which was flooded as a result of the construction of a dam in 1963. A new town was built a short distance away, but a strong sense of rootlessness remains among the inhabitants of the town. To what extent does the population of Portomarín recognise its memory regarding the forced removal as heritage? What means can be employed to incorporate the historical process of the forced removal into its identity? How can heritage education contribute towards the population overcoming these feelings of rootlessness? The inhabitants’ conceptions of their forced removal were identified, and an educational activity was implemented in the town’s school regarding the process of the removal. The hypothesis is confirmed that a community that does not foster intergenerational dialogue about its past (which in this case was traumatic) and does not develop its own strategy to assist in explaining and understanding its local history does not construct a shared identity.
Highlights
Communities have progressively acquired prominence in heritage management
This study identifies the conceptions regarding local heritage held by the inhabitants of Portomarín, a rural community forcibly relocated, in 1963, to another site due to the construction of a dam
The central event of the recent history of Portomarín is the flooding of the old town due to the construction of a dam and the removal, brick by brick, of its main architectural elements to another site and, this is the most important element of this study
Summary
Communities have progressively acquired prominence in heritage management. In the most recent legislation relating to heritage, community participation has come to be seen as both a necessity and a duty. A community which does not participate in the transmission of its heritage loses interest, distances itself from it and may even destroy it. For its heritage to be accepted as its own, processes of social participation, education, and awareness-raising are necessary in order to contribute towards its resignification (Quintero, 2011). The heritagisation process includes “relationships of power, accumulation of capital (symbolic, economic, educational, etc.), relationships between the community itself and the emotional burden of these practices and assets” The heritagisation process includes “relationships of power, accumulation of capital (symbolic, economic, educational, etc.), relationships between the community itself and the emotional burden of these practices and assets” (Jiménez-Esquinas and Quintero-Morón, 2017, p. 1853)
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