«Seguir hablando»: el museo viviente otavalango y las prácticas de resignificación de las ruinas de la modernidad

Abstract

In Ecuador, community museums, both those with an established trajectory and more recently created ones, have received limited scholarly attention despite their significance. These spaces stand out for the committed participation of the community in their conception, design, and management, making them essential vehicles for the communal appropriation and activation of cultural assets, traditions, and memories. This article examines the case of the Museo Viviente Otavalango, located in Imbabura, to explore how it functions as a space of self-representation and performative strategies that challenge nationalist and traditional museological models. Using a qualitative methodology that included semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops with members of the Kichwa-Otavalo community, this study analyzes the dynamics of the museum, founded in 2011 by approximately twenty families. Since its inception, the museum has focused on conserving and revitalising tangible and intangible cultural heritage, advocating for indigenous labor and denouncing the historical injustices associated with textile production and the obraje system. The findings highlight how the museum transcends its role as a preservation site to become a space of cultural resistance and identity affirmation. The conclusions underline that the dynamic and participatory nature of the Museo Viviente Otavalango not only revitalizes local cultural heritage but also proposes an alternative museological model that reconfigures dominant narratives about heritage and cultural representation.