FOUNDING NEIGHBORDHOODS, TOPOPHILIA, AND FOOD MEMORY. THE CASE OF EL ALTO, AT THE HISTORIC CENTER OF PUEBLA

Abstract

The following work is set in the Alto neighborhood, located in the city of Puebla. This neighborhood is part of the delineation known as the Historic Center of this city. In recent years, this area has become a hub of tourist attraction, with promotional narratives emphasizing its historical and cultural richness.

Through this text, we aim to highlight the sociocultural wealth that exists within it, considering its neighborhood dynamics, the food memories preserved by those who have lived or continue to live there, and the narratives that show a significant attachment to this territory, known as topophilia, beyond its current commercialization as a tourist product. It is necessary to mention that. The testimonies of street food spaces have been chosen; the objective of this research is not private cuisine but what has been called street kitchens (Roldán, 2022). It includes all those memories and experiences that mention them as an important element in the collective memory of the neighborhood. 

This article considers that there are significant places with very high symbolic density, based on the experiences of those who lived and still live in the neighborhood, but which are not valued in the same way by those who promote the Alto neighborhood as a tourist spot, nor by the recent designation as a "Magical Neighborhood."