Valdivia, American Capital of Culture 2016. A view from the perspective of its economy, reality and projections

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between city and culture economy using as a reference the city of Valdivia located in southern Chile. With regard to this relationship, we discuss the importance, incidence and possible scenarios in the context of the Declaratoria Ciudad Americana 2016, organized by the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals. This is an initiative which selects one city in America per year as representative of cultural life, with the aim of enhancing creative activities and industries and of increasing cultural tourism in the area. Elaborating theoretical discussions based on the existing literature, this is an attempt to discern the effect of this initiative on the city of Valdivia with reference to the relevant experience of the cities which had been previously selected.