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A hyperreal first-place: Portugal dos Pequenitos theme park and the narrative of origins

2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 24; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13527258.2017.1393445

1470-3610

Paula Mota Santos,

Photography and Visual Culture

This article analyses a nation-theme park in Portugal. Located in Coimbra and built in the 1940s, when Portugal was a colonial empire and was under the rule of a right wing dictatorship, the park was designed as a pedagogical device for children to learn about the nation. In the park, the whole of the nation was represented by miniature replicas of buildings representing European Portugal and its overseas territories. Seventy-five years after its construction and with little changes to its material structures, this theme park is the most visited tourist attraction in Coimbra. This paper presents the result of ethnographic work carried out with Portuguese visitors to the park so as to understand the affect the place has over Portuguese visitors. The work undertaken with the latter has allowed to identify a narrative of 'firstness' that constructs the park as a hyper-real first-place by Portuguese visitors.