El dulce olvido

Memoria colectiva e imaginarios sociales

Abstract

Sweet oblivion: collective memory and social imaginaries. Within the framework of social anthropology, this article looks at the topics of states of forgetting and remembering, which are seen as tools for achieving social cohesión within a specific group, a means for coming to an understanding with the other and of constructing a new “reality”. The context of the study is Guatemala, a country which has suffered long periods of violence, especially from 1982 to 1996, which left deep wounds in the people living in the region of Ixcán, the effects of which have also been felt in subsequent generations. Due to these circumstances and others (such as ethnic diversity and religion), new generations have created a particular form of representing war and violence. Since this topic presents not only methodological but also epistemological difficulties, this study, rather than providing answers, attempts to pose a couple of essential questions that will open the way for further research which might provide answers.