Registro del patrimonio cultural inmaterial de los subámbitos “Oficios tradicionales” y “Técnicas artesanales tradicionales” ligadas a la memoria ferroviaria del cantón Riobamba.

Abstract

The objective of this research work was to register the intangible cultural heritage of the sub-areas “traditional trades” and “traditional craft techniques” linked to the railway memory of Riobamba canton. For this purpose, it proceeded to identify and collect information on the city´s railroad serves through bibliographic sources. These were organized into information matrices, and then those involved were contacted through messages, phone calls, and video calls to conduct interviews about their work in the railway area. The information gathered was used to prepare an analytical report containing the physical context, the ethnohistorical context, the socio-economic context, and a description of each of the events, where the traditional positions and trades were analyzed and systematized. This information was used to fill out the registration forms of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage; finally, the status of the sub-areas “traditional crafts” and “traditional craft techniques” was evaluates using a matrix that lists vertically all the registered manifestations and horizontally evaluates each manifestation based on three indicators: i) heritage, ii) memory, and iii) identify. In addition, the positive and negative aspects acting on the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) were identified using the SWOT matrix. The recorded manifestations of intangible cultural heritage were 33 traditional railway trades attached to the railway company, one traditional external trade under payroll, and one traditional railway craft technique. The diagnosis evaluated the ICH´s status sub-areas “Traditional trades” and “Traditional craft techniques”, being vulnerable in 63% and highly vulnerable in 37%. It was concluded that the railway ICH could become a fundamental pillar for the development of cultural tourism, and it is recommended that an action plan be implemented in the canton linked to this ICH.