Hombres, imaginarios y paisajes, la construcción social del espacio habitadoel caso de buzos y pescadores de Isla Guafo, Patagonia chilena

Résumé

The focus of this study was placed on the social practices of divers, assistants and crew of vessels that exploit the red alga ‘luga’ (Gigartina skottsberguii) on Guafo Island, a territory located in southern Chile and considered the gateway to coastal-insular Patagonia. This work reveals, through a detailed ethnographic observation, how the economic structures and daily life of men who transiently inhabit the area are established, yet orienting our analysis also to the understanding of how they and the social imaginaries have an impact on the construction of the local landscape. This study consists of a theoretical-methodological section that underpins our research, a historical approach that contextualizes the space studied, and an anthropological analysis that dimensions the cultural components existing in the complex social framework built by divers. Being underwater poses various constrains, and hence this study gives an insight into the daily risks encountered by these men during their work and into the different elements that lessen the burden and dangers faced by their bodies. Furthermore, it is important to mention that the productive forms established on the island are essential to understand the social dynamics and the relations established between the groups and their geographies...