#WeareHeritage. World Heritage changes: From having to being heritage

Abstract

In this article, we propose a theoretical reflection on the changes in UNESCO's heritage policies and their impact on the heritage imaginary and construct. The slogan #WeareHeritage emerges within a context of new aspirations. The change is considerable: not only you have heritage, but you can become heritage as a metonymic whole. Heritage can be (in its authorized version) or become (in its democratic version). In this game of fictions, the asymmetries and dysfunctions of capitals set in motion are revealed and hidden, silenced, or proclaimed. This game has gone from 'having' heritage as a container for an illustrated treasure to 'being' heritage as a fetish of an emerging market. Here we will analyze #WeareHeritage as an expression that encapsulates the new patrimonial times, observing the contexts in which it is used as a new identifying mark at the service of the market or as a strategy of vindication.