Fogones de Resistencia: la Galería de Pueblo Nuevo de Buenaventura y sus Cocineras Tradicionales

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between traditional cuisine from Colombia’s Pacific region and the identity of Black women in Buenaventura, through a communication and social change lens. Using an audiovisual narrative centered on the Association of Keepers of Traditional Pacific Cuisine, it documents the lived experiences, memories, and everyday practices of four traditional cooks from the José Hilario López market square. The research acknowledges cooking as a cultural and political act that intertwines territory, resistance, intergenerational knowledge transmission, and community agency, within a context historically marked by structural inequality, violence, and marginalization. Through interviews, participant observation, and analysis of the local sociocultural context, the study examines the mechanisms used to preserve gastronomic heritage, the communicative strategies linked to its oral and practical transmission, and the economic, symbolic, and organizational role of the market square as a space of resistance and social cohesion. Findings show how these women’s culinary practices not only safeguard cultural heritage but also foster leadership, entrepreneurship, and social transformation. The study concludes with a communication strategy proposal aimed at strengthening traditional practices as a tool for women’s empowerment, cultural heritage recognition, and inclusive cultural policymaking. This research contributes to making visible the central role of traditional cooks as political subjects, knowledge holders, and agents of change within their communities.