When the soul of the city has an address: the Praça do Avião (Canoas, RS, Brazil) as a territory of identities, intangible heritage and cultural pedagogies

Abstract

This paper addresses meanings produced and attributed to a public space of the city of Canoas, RS, po­pularly referred to as “Praça do Avião” or Aviation Square, a reference not just for the city and its people, but also for the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. It is based on the research titled “Pedagogias culturais, representações e identidades: a Praça do Avião, patrimônio cultural imaterial de Canoas, RS” (Schutz, 2019). In the last one hundred years, inhabitants, citizens, outsiders, politicians, the military, governments, the press and organized civilian social mo­vements have given multiple meanings and representations to this square, making it evident that it is in no way stable or immutable, but under an ongoing permanent and dynamic transformation and, becoming a territory of conflict. Me­thodologically, an analysis from the field of Cultural Studies was applied, taking as artifacts, documents and images from collections in local archives, libraries and public organizations, publications in both digital and analog media, in addition to on-site observations. The militarization process of the urban space of Canoas was a key element in the historical narra­tive, built through marked interventions by the Brazilian air force, Força Aérea Brasileira (FAB), with Praça do Avião as its symbolic epicenter, especially during the second half of the 20th century, with far-reaching consequences until contem­porary times. The analysis focuses on the explanation of the circulation and negotiation of representations and recurring identities, associated with this immaterial cultural heritage, and its role in the context of pedagogies linked to it.