From Folklore to Symbolic Device: Authorship and Cultural Construction of the Duende in Baños de Agua Santa (Ecuador)

This publication analyzes the contemporary emergence of the duende as a symbolic figure in Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador. It distinguishes between general Ecuadorian folklore and a localized cultural construction initiated through art-based practices in 2013. The study introduces the concept of Duendismo Cultural to describe the artistic activation of the duende as a symbolic device rather than a literal belief, and examines how this figure was later absorbed into tourism circuits. By clarifying authorship, chronology, and symbolic intention, the text contributes to debates on invented traditions, cultural tourism, and contemporary symbolic production in Latin America.