Abstract
This article studies the role of spiritual ceremonies known as "mystics" in the popular politics of grassroots organizations in Colombia. Based on an ethnographic approach to the Popular and Spiritual Inauguration of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez, I argue that the mystic constitutes an experimental and popular form of political (re)composition that involves the institution, activation, and/or reorientation of affective ties between bodies. I also propose that this ceremony constitutes a form of political articulation that works with and produces difference without the promise of a synthesis, the success of which depends on being flexible enough to allow the entry within popular and institutional politics of historically marginalized aesthetic, spiritual, and political sensibilities linked to different horizons of struggle. In the end, the article reflects on the place of bodies, materiality, and aesthetics in the processes of political (re)composition.
| Translated title of the contribution | The Mystical Form: Spirituality, Materialities, and Affectivity in Colombian Popular Politics |
|---|---|
| Original language | Spanish |
| Pages (from-to) | 178-200 |
| Journal | American Religion |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2024 |
Keywords
- popular politics
- mysticism
- affects
- social movements
- Colombia