Intercultural processes of territory-heritage recovery and management in the Calchaquí valleys, Tucumán, Argentina

Abstract

Intercultural work performed in association with indigenous and rural communities has followed at least two parallel lines of involvement, which only rarely have crossed: cultural heritage and territory. Our own experiences in relation to this subject allow us to describe the intimate relationship that these two concepts have when the time comes to jointly produce contents with political meaning for these communities. Interculturalism, in turn, is considered in terms of objectives and utopias, which we must deconstruct in order to situate ourselves in a reality that remains difficult for us to understand. We discuss these practices in the context of cases from the Calchaquí Valley in northwest Argentina. We compare two cases, Amaicha del Valle and Quilmes, and then especially focus on the second of these two communities and its struggles not only for territory but also for its most precious heritage site, the Sacred City of Quilmes.

El trabajo intercultural en el ámbito de comunidades indígenas y rurales ha seguido al menos dos líneas de intervención paralelas, que raramente han sido entrecruzadas: patrimonio cultural y territorio. La experiencia en torno al mismo nos lleva a plantear la íntima relación que ambos tienen a la hora de producir contenidos conjuntos con significación para aquellas. La interculturalidad, a su vez, está planteada en torno a objetivos y utopías que necesitamos deconstruir para situarnos en una realidad que aun nos cuesta comprender. Discutimos estas prácticas en el contexto de casos del Valle Calchaquí (Argentina), con mayor énfasis en la Comunidad India de Quilmes y su luchas por el territorio y por la recuperación de su más preciado bien patrimonial: la Ciudad Sagrada de Quilmes.