Abstract

The analysis of political transitions commonly emphasizes on political, ethical and historical components. However, transitions may also be interpreted as a particular momentum related to re-building the nation and re-bonding the national community, where cultural hegemony is at stake. This article states that the re-building and re-bonding process is performed in various scenes, in particular, those organized around cuisine and food consumption. Using a mixed approach of political sociology and symbolic anthropology, and the analysis of public discourse found in secondary sources, our main objectives are to interpret and describe gastrodiplomacy during Chilean transition as a tool for reconciliation, and put forward a theoretical framework that overlaps political theory, theatrical metaphor and theories on ritual to account for the symbolic components of national reconciliations and political transitions.