SOCIAL PRESENCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEANINGS OF THE ACTIONS OF THE CULTURAL AND ECOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION LAGOA DO NADO IN BELO HORIZONTE

Abstract

Identity can be understood as a constant process of construction of meaning based on some cultural and social attribute, as it constitutes a source of meanings constructed by man in his identity relations of each time in a given space. The construction of identities finds raw material in symbols and their forms of power, since they are elements of social cohesion and give sense, identification and meaning to the individual. (BOURDIEU, 2005). Such construction is established through an identity game whose representations are continuously formed and transformed by the cultural systems that surround us and, as these systems change and multiply, man is confronted with a multiplicity of possible identities, resulting in identities hybrids. (HALL, 2006). Who builds and why they build collective identities determines its symbolic content and who relates to, identifies with, or excludes themselves from it. (CASTELLS, 1999). Given this theoretical approach, this article aims to understand how the identifications (or their absence) with given symbols are made according to social groups in an imaginary game of knowledge and recognition. This study was carried out in the context of the founding of the Associação Cultural Ecológica Lagoa do Nado, in Belo Horizonte (MG), which arose from the movement of Grupo Verde Integral in defense of a large green area that existed in the region of Pampulha. For this study, methodological devices for theoretical review, bibliographic and documentary research were used, in addition to participant observation on the spot. It is concluded that the Lagoa do Nado Municipal Park reconstructed its identity from the actions of its associations to give a sense of social presence and environmental significance.