The Conquest of Representation in the Architecture of Guatemala

Abstract

This paper will argue that the connections that exist between architecture and political powers are located in representational functions of architecture. Representation is defined here as a culture-specific process of establishing the relationships between reality and the signs created to symbolize that reality. Architecture of Guatemala provides a unique material to study how representational constitution of symbolic places reflects an ideological struggle of two different cultures. To substantiate this point, I will expand on Tzvetan Todorov’s observations made in “The Conquest of America” and show how they could enhance our understanding of the symbolic function of architecture. The discussion of representational attributes and workings of architecture will be informed by a comparative reading of three cities in Guatemala: Mayan ruins in Tlkal, colonial city of Antigua, and indigenous Chichicastenango. My objective is to test the workings of this critical inquiry against the geography of power that these three cities represent.