Configurations of Co-existence and its Imaginaries: Study in Three Neighborhoods of Armenia (Quindío)

The results of the research “How we are living in the xxi century Colombia”, which had as a
general objective “to understand, the configurations of coexistence and their imaginaries” from the perspective of the actors in Armenia (Quindío) are presented. Three community experiences, of citizen initiative, were studied in neighborhoods that concentrate social conflicts but that have also found different strategies to overcome their vulnerability and improve the quality of life. The coexistence was characterized based on three subcategories: normativity, uses and customs and belonging. The study of the imaginaries was approached from the proposal of
Pintos (2006), who suggests the application of the relevance/opacity code. It was found that, due to their participation in the experiences studied, many individuals were able to resignify their social role because they consolidated new imaginaries. However, the coexistence is not guided by the effective fulfillment of constitutional norms and respect for human rights, but is achieved, even, over and in spite of them. Implicit rules such as pacts of silence and nonreporting of forms of delinquency govern the lives of these communities. These norms, in turn, determine the uses and customs, as well as the belonging of the inhabitants to the community.