Barra brava, culture, violence and society: the world of soccer fans as representation

• Main Authors: Luisa Fernanda Miranda-Bastidas, Ingrid Vanessa Urrego-Sáez, Diana Carolina Vera-Erazo
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad del Valle 2015-10-01
• Series: Prospectiva
• Subjects: barra brava; youth subculture; social representations; violence
• Online Access: http://revistaprospectiva.univalle.edu.co/index.php/prospectiva/%20article%20/view%20/938

This article’s main objective is to show the social representations of the Barón Rojo Sur soccer fan club (barra brava) built by their members as well as by members of the community (residents of the area, merchants, and the media) and representative institutions (the police, education institutions, the Major’s Office, the church) in Santiago de Cali. To do so, emphasis will be placed on the social representations that relate violence to this youth subculture, focusing the discussion on the elements of organizational dynamics, the symbolic expression that prevail within this organization, and its social manifestations. This research showed that, through a share discourse, a great part of the community and institutional actors homogenize the members of the barra brava due to their transgressive practices, while a minority of external actors and members of Barón Rojo Sur recognize it as a social space where they build their collective identity.