Between the past and the market: social representations of coffee culture in the tourism business of the Colombian coffee cultural landscape

Resumo

This article examines the configuration and transformation of social representations of coffee culture in the tourism context of the Colombian Coffee Cultural Landscape (CCCL). An alternative classification is proposed: dominant, archaic, residual and emergent social representations, based on the theory of social representations and Raymond Williams' contributions on selective tradition. A multi-methodological approach is adopted, integrating documentary analysis, interviews, participant observation, surveys and projective and analytical techniques such as drawing and semantic networks, applied to tourism entrepreneurs, local inhabitants and tourists. The results show how different forms of representation coexist and temporarily overlap in the tourism field, influenced by both institutional discourses and commercial practices. Stable figurative nuclei (coffee, family, traditional architecture, landscape) and differentiated processes of objectification and anchoring are identified. The proposed typology allows us to understand how representations are configured, negotiated and updated in heritage contexts with tourist uses. It is concluded that social representations are not static structures but polyphasic and dynamic assemblages that reflect tensions between tradition, innovation, market and collective memory. Finally, this paper emphasizes the need to strengthen heritage management that recognizes the landscape and ecological dimensions of the CCCL while incorporating the evolving dynamics of cultural groups in tourism contexts.