he Diagnosis of the Cultural Heritage of the San Vicente canton province of Manabí

Abstract

Cultural heritage is a component of territorial planning, it reflects the roots and evolution of a society, contributing to its sense of belonging and social cohesion, being necessary to ensure its preservation, conservation, enhancement and social use of the heritage assets of a territory. The canton of San Vicente has a cultural, patrimonial, gastronomic and archeological diversity that needs to be recovered and preserved. The objective of this research was to diagnose the existing heritage assets in San Vicente Canton by identifying their state of conservation, general analysis of potentialities, problems and weaknesses regarding their management and preservation. Analytical and descriptive methods were applied to analyze the information provided by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage and the Decentralized Autonomous Government of San Vicente Canton, which was contrasted through interviews with cultural managers, knowledge bearers, and direct observation in field visits.  The results of the diagnosis were: 55 cultural assets: 23 intangible cultural heritage assets; 15 movable assets; 17 archaeological sites. It was concluded that the safeguarding, recognition, protection, conservation, prevention, transmission, dissemination and access in relation to goods, communities and individuals that make up material and immaterial manifestations representative of the various expressions present in the territory, is a continuous and dynamic process of valuation and its preservation will depend on the development and implementation of a cultural management plan containing effective policies, institutional support and the active participation of citizens, only then will ensure that future generations appreciate, learn and enjoy the valuable cultural heritage of San Vicente Canton.