DEATH ANNOUNCED

THE NEGLECT OF HERITAGE

Abstract

Memory and identity, two ethereal elements, untouchable, or like the heritage scholars call it "intangibles", are a part of the core of the nation's definition, are contributions built by the people and to the people that ensure the cultural image of a certain region, for both those who live there and for those who tries to identify them as society. Such components, when its social consolidation, fix themselves in the more several references, mostly in monuments and historical buildings, visible references of their definitions. When these archetypes buildings were destroyed, most of its essence is no longer seen and starts to being felt by the population. This feeling of loss, like when we lose a member and still feel the "hooks" of the muscles it is verified by the unsurpassed commotion in the journalistic media and academia. The Museu Nacional burn on Rio de Janeiro keeps on the matting of others important holdings destruction and reinforce the sad picture of the abandonment of our cultural institutions and dissemination of knowledge; the Instituto Butantã, the Museu da Independência and the Museu da Língua Portuguesa are others examples that will be brought in the discussion. This article will search for, based on the analysis of those events and by the comprehension of the formation of our preservation organs (IPHAN and IPHAEP), define a perspective of the Paraiba's institutions and its current use conditions and public policies when it comes to preservation and disclosure of memory and entity of the State.