Filantropía comunitaria en México

Community philanthropy in Mexico: emerging narratives of memory and territory

Abstract

This article reflects on the role of audiovisual production, specifically the production of short documentary films, as a vehicle to make visible the philanthropic practices of communities in Mexico, within the framework of donor-community relations. Hegemonic perceptions of philanthropy and emerging narratives that are shaped by the perception of the use of time, community and territory are discussed. In a qualitative interpretative framework and from the theory of social representations, the role played by the production of documentary short films as a vehicle to make visible the philanthropic practices of communities in Mexico is proposed. The methodology used is the analysis of narratives from the realization of three regional workshops to strengthen the role of grassroots groups as community philanthropists, from which six cases were selected (two from the north, two from the center and two from the south of the country). From this point, six short films were produced that, through an introduction, conflict and denouement, show the capacity of the communities to mobilize resources, mainly intangible resources, specifically knowledge, legitimacy, leadership and attachment to the territory. It is concluded that the short film is a powerful tool to communicate community philanthropic practices in Mexico, the six short films are online.