Between presences and absences: interpretation of educational heritage and reinterpretation of the memory of Maria Aparecida Figueiredo at the Padre Carlos Memorial in Poços de Caldas

Abstract

This article discusses the role of educational heritage interpretation, based on a case study of the Padre Carlos Memorial, established in 2003 alongside the Dom Bosco Vocational School by the Poços de Caldas Foundation for the Assistance of Minors, with the aim of preserving and promoting the life and work of its founder and the institution’s history. Although conceived as a space for safeguarding institutional memory, the memorial initially prioritised a narrative centred on the figure of the founding priest, relegating to a secondary role the contribution of Maria Aparecida Figueiredo, co-founder of the institution and a key figure in its historical, educational and social consolidation. Drawing on theoretical contributions regarding the interpretation of heritage, collective memory, places of memory and educational heritage, this study seeks to understand how the sense of alienation expressed by the school community triggered a process of interpretative revision capable of broadening the representativeness of the institutional narrative. It is argued that the reintegration of the memory of Maria Aparecida Figueiredo constitutes not merely a historical correction, but a significant example of the democratisation of memory and the reframing of educational heritage. It is concluded that heritage spaces linked to educational institutions should be understood as dynamic social constructs, permanently open to review, dialogue and the inclusion of historically marginalised individuals, in which the interpretation of heritage can play a fundamental role.