THE AVTSM INSTAGRAM AS A LIVING ARCHIVE OF THE KISS NIGHTCLUB TRAGEDY: SOCIAL MEMORY, MOURNING AND POLITICAL MOBILIZATION

Abstract

This article analyzes how the official Instagram profile of the Association of Relatives of Victims and Survivors of the Santa Maria Tragedy (AVTSM) participates in the construction of social memory about the Kiss Nightclub tragedy, which occurred in 2013. Based on a qualitative, exploratory, and interpretive approach, the study examines two posts published in 2023: a clarification note about the series The Endless Night and a post related to an act in Brasília demanding accountability. The selection considered visible engagement, thematic relevance, and the communicational contrast between the materials. Methodologically, the research combines content analysis and visual analysis, using categories focused on discursive resources, visual elements, marks of memory and ritualization, and the political-communicational dimension of the posts. The theoretical framework draws on the concepts of collective memory, digital memory, communicative bonding, media ritualization, and living archive. The results indicate that the posts operate complementarily: the first intervenes in the dispute over the public representation of the tragedy, while the second transforms collective mourning into denunciation and a demand for justice. The article concludes that AVTSM’s Instagram can be understood as a living archive, as it not only stores records but also updates meanings, organizes affects, and calls for public participation around memory, accountability, and the non-repetition of the tragedy.