READING HERITAGE: THE CONVENTIONAL VERSUS THE FORBIDDEN

Abstract

This socio-spatial study, applied to the El Prohibido (The Forbidden, in Spanish) Cultural Center, located in Cuenca-Ecuador, aims to broaden the view of cultural heritage built on the basis of architectural-cultural intervention. A descriptive, cross-sectional and prospective methodology is used, based on bibliographic and critical theoretical analyses on the following topics: 1) local regulations; 2) queer theory; 3) cultural rights, and 4) participatory governance, which converge in this case study. The heritage potential of architectural sites is exposed through a subject-object interaction; thus, contextualizing the construction of cultural identities and the full exercise of individual and collective law, which surpass the current conventional line on built cultural heritage.