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Animitas - informal roadside shrines erected to honour sudden deaths - constitute one of Chile's most widespread forms of popular religious heritage. Rooted in syncretic Andean and Hispanic traditions, these memorials are understood as expressions of communal mercy towards victims of a mala muerte: an unexpected death in public space that is believed to alter the perceived nature of that site (Plath, 1993, cited in Ojeda, 2013). Over time, animitas evolve through cycles of establishment, transition, and abandonment, reflecting shifting patterns of community attachment and collective memory (Benavente, 2011).
Recently, narco-animitas — shrines associated with criminal power — have complicated this landscape, challenging traditional notions of communal devotion and memorial practice.
This tension is further evident in contemporary debates over urban space and public memory. Animitas disrupt conventional urban planning while serving as sites of collective mourning and resistance; yet their material visibility stands in sharp contrast to their institutional invisibility (Ojeda, 2013). In 2023, President Boric announced a demolition programme targeting such shrines, and subsequent legislative initiatives sought to authorise municipalities to remove them through urban planning regulations.
This paper combines a theoretical-conceptual framework with the qualitative analysis of selected narco-animita cases documented through scholarly literature, press coverage, and publicly available visual records. Case selection prioritises shrines that have generated public controversy, allowing for a comparative examination of the ways in which devotional practice, territorial display, and institutional intervention intersect. This approach situates narco-animitas within longer trajectories of vernacular memorialisation in Chile, while remaining attentive to the specific conditions — social, spatial, and political — that distinguish them from conventional animitas.
It argues that the controversy surrounding these shrines exposes the fragile boundary between popular memorial practices and institutional regulation, contributing to broader debates on how societies negotiate the limits of vernacular heritage, moral legitimacy, and spatial governance.
Nota biográfica | Short Bio
Alejandra Pérez Lisicic is a geographer with over 15 years of professional experience. She is currently pursuing advanced studies in heritage at the University of Cottbus, focusing on vernacular memorial practices in Chile. Her research interests include popular religious expressions, specifically the study of animitas—informal roadside shrines—and their role in collective memory and community identity. Throughout her career, Alejandra has combined geographical perspectives with cultural heritage studies to explore how grassroots practices shape and contest public spaces.
| Palavras-chave | Keywords | Vernacular heritage, Popular devotion, Memorial practices , Narco-animitas, Urban space |
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