Culinary heritage as a generator of creative and cultural industries: The case of the Riosucio market place (Plaza), Caldas, Colombia

Abstract

Traditional gastronomy, in addition to constitute a significant part of the tangible and intangible heritage of a society, constitutes a scenario with significant potential in the development of creative and cultural industries committed to the protection and promotion of cultural diversity. Based on this conceptual framework, this article aims to project and make visible the market place of Riosucio Caldas, Colombia, as a scenario of culinary practices capable of articulating the traditions and knowledge of traditional cuisines with economic growth. The methodological approach has a qualitative character that (through dialogue processes with the community) presents a reality full of historical, social, symbolic and aesthetic values that, when analyzed, resulted in the characterization of this Plaza as a space of heritage value with an important potential in the generation of creative economies, due to the great variety of manifestations resulting from the plurality of cultures that are intertwined there by social practices and factors such as collective work, cooperation and a culinary system full of syncretism that imprint this Plaza a legitimate identity built and enriched over centuries. In conclusion, the need for strategies that promote architectural recovery in this Plaza is highlighted as well as its social, cultural and economic sustainability in a binding way, the socialization of its knowledge, the promotion of its patrimonial value, and the transmission of its legacy to future generations in a framework that encourages the cooperation of public and private, multisectoral and multidisciplinary actors.