Comunicación e interculturalidad en las fiestas del Inti Raymi interuniversitarias, Quito, año 2018

Abstract

This study addresses the subject of “Communication and interculturality at interuniversity Inti Raymi festivities in Quito in 2018”. Its main goal is to examine the notion of interculturality along with communication practices in Inti Raymi (summer solstice) festivities held at Quito universities. The research question is: can interuniversity Inti Raymi festivities be regarded as a space for building interculturality and dialogue between cultures in Quito? The study uses a qualitative methodology and indepth interviews as a research technique. It concludes that a participatory, inclusive communicational process takes place in the framework of this collective festivity and the worldview that it holds. In this process, senses and meanings are conveyed, at a high degree of symbolic interaction. Although those are mixed up with Western cultural features and not all participants have a deep understanding of this ancestral rite’s meaning, a clear space appears where interculturality is built in the capital city during those hours — no distinctions are made regarding ethnicity, social class, ideology or politics, which leads to a lapse of time where indigenous cultures gain importance.