Rio de Janeiro: clues to the invention of Ipanema and Cantagalo during the formation of the global culture market

Abstract

This study investigated the formation of the cultural identity of Ipanema and the Cantagalo favela within the context of spatial occupation in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the connections of these áreas with the global cultural market. The objective of the research was to analyze the marketing and symbolic elements involved in the invention of these places and the representational models of their residents around the meaning of belonging to the city. The methodology employed was exploratory research, which identified the landmarks of urban and cultural intervention in these locations. Ipanema represents the globalized city and has encapsulated the Cantagalo favela within a multicultural scene. This phenomenon brought together business and institutional initiatives in the fields of historical heritage, arts, tourism, and entertainment. Immersed in Ipanema’s transnational cultural fabric, these expressions gave rise to narratives about Cantagalo linked to origin myths and Black culture, especially following the rise of the mulato figure and the favela throughout the stratified city. These discourses unfold amid the formation of a marketing ecosystem centered on culture and entertainment, while the identities of these places are being continuously negotiated. Rather than rejecting one another, the traits that connect mulato, samba, and Ipanema’s globalized cultural identity foster possibilities for coexistence at the intersection of the cultural industry and the tourism economy.