Recife and the stolen Hermes

images, myths and imaginaries about circulation in the city

Abstract

Taking the Recife subway as the object of research, this article aims to explore the urban imaginary, highlighting paradoxical images of urban mobility, the myth of technical progress, and local tourism. We draw on the contributions of Gilbert Durand (2012), Danielle Rocha Pitta (2017), and the study by Thomas Poell, David Nieborg, and José Van Dijck (2020), which allowed us to understand a foundational mythical structure in the deeper layers of two historical situations that mark the history of this popular mode of transportation, and how they resonate with impulses and other contexts, such as the 2014 World Cup and platformization. The research followed a socio-historical approach, focusing on institutions and social actors within the context of producing an imaginary and representations of urban circulation, thus engaging with sociologist Howard Becker (2019) and his perspective of situating societal narratives in relation to specific socio-organizational contexts.