MUSEUM OF IMAGES AND SENSES:

CARIOCA TRAMS IN TELEPHONE CARDS PHOTOS

Abstract

Now obsolete as a technological object and part of collectors’ pieces, telephone cards contain images of the city of Rio de Janeiro, thus performing more than a simply practical function. These cards represent the imaginary of the city through portrayals such as the charming cariocas trams, which were once signs of a modern city and now were upgraded into the form of the VLT, leading us to formulate a research question around its persistence. In this scenario, this article aims to understand the fabrication or invention of the imagery related to the city of Rio de Janeiro by discussing the recurrence of images and their relation to the imaginary. The qualitative methodology employed favors an interpretative approach to images and categories of thought. Our results show that tram images operate as mediators between the past and the future, being a sign of a city that was both embellished at the beginning of the twentieth century and which seeks to reinvent itself in the twenty-first century.