The memory of daily life in the Conquistense work: the case of Lagoa das Bateias Environmental Park

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the memory and daily life of urban work in the city of Vitória da Conquista / BA. During the twentieth century the city went through a deep process of urbanization strongly marked by the advance of capitalist relations in Bahia State. The city is located in the south of Chapada Diamantina, more precisely, in the Vitória da Conquista Identity Territory, and the municipality is a regional fundraiser and investment center. In an attempt to understand the social consequences that this logic imposes on the city, a historical approach based on bibliographic research was started to understand the concept of city and the intersections with the specific literature on the development of the city of Vitória da Conquista. For the development of empirical research, a field investigation was carried out in the Lagoa das Bateias Environmental Park, through interviews with residents and users. On another front, contact was sought with the public sector and research was conducted with the municipal archive. The interviews were conducted from the perspective of Oral History, according to Portelli’s (1997) assumptions, considering the area studied according to the initial narrative of an old resident, and then interviewed other residents in a network system. Thus, a historical cut from the 1940s to the contemporary era was structured. This text will portray the period from the first occupations until the construction of the park. Through daily analysis, the research revealed the spoliation face of the urbanization process promoted by capital; whose core is the production of new contradictions in society and the way Vitória da Conquista, characterized as a medium-sized city, had its daily life conditioned to market demands.