Meaning of consumption in cariocas’ bars: an analysis of the experience in Mureta da Urca

Abstract

The present study starts from the need to reflect and understand the construction process of the meanings of consumption practices that emerge in the context of bars and “botecos” (small bars) from the combination between culture and consumption. To do that, it was decided to use techniques of the ethnographic methods, such as participant observation, informal conversations and interviews at the Bar and Restaurant Urca, establishment of this nature as Cultural Heritage of the City of Rio de Janeiro. The analysis was done from the perspective of the Consumer Culture Theory (CCT). The observations form different categories of analysis, which emerged from the structuring interactions and the own speech of the regular users of the places, which are the bar, the restaurant; the wall and the “pobreta”. The results point that the process of signification by different individuals goes beyond the practical and objective logic that could influence the motivations of choice for the consumption of the products and services. This process favored a more detailed analysis of the production of senses from the “web of meaning” that derive from the practices in the searched area.

Keywords

• significados do consumo
• cultura e consumo
• lazer
• boteco carioca
• patrimônio imaterial