Abstract
This paper examines how Korean cuisine in the Patronato neighborhood of Santiago, Chile, functions as a humanistic intervention in urban belonging, reshaping communal imaginaries and performing cultural narratives. Located at the intersection of multiple diasporas (Arab, Chinese, Peruvian, and Korean), Patronato provides fertile ground to explore how gastronomic multiterritoriality reconfigures symbols of authenticity, belonging, and cultural capital in everyday life. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, visual semiotic analysis, and interviews with restaurateurs and community members, this study highlights how aesthetic elements—signage, interior décor, menu design—work in tandem with taste to produce sensory publics. These multisensory engagements become acts of representation that challenge homogenizing narratives and foster a plural urban ethos. By situating food practices as forms of cultural storytelling and spatial agency, the paper contributes to the humanities’ project of reimagining communities beyond national or territorial borders. It attends to questions of cultural visibility, belonging, and the politics of representation, advancing discourse on how material and affective practices generate new forms of communal life. This research crucially aligns with critical cultural studies and public humanities in proposing that food is not merely sustenance but a cultural medium through which migrants envision, contest, and reconfigure community in Latin American cities.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Beyond Borders: The Role of the Humanities in Reimagining Communities
KEYWORDS
Gastronomy, Migration, Visual culture, Hansik, Multiterritoriality
