Identidad, transformación y retórica patrimonial en una ciudad minera del desierto de Atacama, Chile

this study derives from a synthesis and systematization effort, both in theoretical and analytical terms, regarding ethnographic material obtained during the last decade in the saltpetrous-rich city of maría elena, in the atacama desert, chile. identity formation, trajectories and experience of these city inhabitants, and the changes experienced by the settlement -a city conceived under the utopian tradition principles- are discussed. emphasis is set on this settlement's transformation into a camp, and latter, towards an interest on the wealth-formation of the urban complex. this last form is observed as an expression of the changes experienced, which stem from the prevalence of a new model of accumulation, that in turn, has competitiveness, labour flexibility, quality production and globalization, as core elements, and that establish new relationships between inhabitants, workers and the territory.