Mirante do Calvário em Água Branca – AL: vínculos e significados sobre o lugar turístico

Abstract

Understanding the dynamics of functioning and settlement of places is fundamentally important for the formulation and implementation of public policies, when the development of the place is aimed at (SEMPLANDE, 2014). From this perspective, both the participation of the local resident and the visitor (tourist) is essentially important to understand what the place really is and how it is. In Geography the understanding of gazebo receives a cultural load. When it is worked in a geographical space, it is entrusted with cultural representations and symbolisms. In our view, the Gazebo of Calvary is not only an architectural ridge, it is a symbolic place, a cultural space, built from social, cultural, religious and economic relations, endowed with great tourist potential.In view of the above, we seek to better understand the settlement dynamics that occurs in the Calvary Lookout, from the different perceptions of the interviewees. The methodology used was based on the on-site experience, with technical visits to make photographic records, questionnaire applications and free semi-structured interviews to obtain answers that involved value judgment and personal opinions about the Lookout of Calvary. The results show that the main reason for the visits is only to appreciate the natural landscape, not even the strong religious presence in the place is enough to increase the flow of people in the Lookout. The main problems most reported by the interviewees who attend the Lookout of Calvary were the lack of public safety, the lack of structuring, the little dissemination of the place, the pollution and the lack of lighting. We conclude that the Gazebo of Calvary is still one of the most symbolic places of Água Branca, one of the main tourist attractions of the city, but urgently needs reforms in its intermediations, investments and strategies to attract and make the tourist return.