Exhibition Fairs as Metaphors for the City

Abstract

This article analyzes exhibition fairs as metaphors for the city from the theoretical perspective of Lakoff and Johnson's cognitive metaphor theory. Based on the understanding of metaphors as structures that organize actions and thoughts, the author establishes a relationship between the experience of the city and exhibition fairs, focusing specifically on ANPIC and SAPICA, events associated with the footwear industry in León, Guanajuato. The analysis identifies three dimensions shared by both experiences: space, social class, and territoriality. Regarding space, the organization of stands, aisles, service areas, and gathering places reproduces certain structures characteristic of streets and urban spaces. In terms of social class, differences among participating entrepreneurs are expressed through consumption practices, internationalization, design, social relationships, and the ways in which stands are constructed and used. Territoriality, in turn, provides a framework for analyzing processes of appropriation, belonging, identity, and differentiation within the exhibition space. Footwear culture functions as an organizing element in the social representations of those participating in these events. The article concludes that ANPIC and SAPICA constitute microsocieties whose dynamics can be interpreted through the fair-city metaphor and offers a critical reflection on the social and cultural frameworks that organize practices of consumption, exchange, and coexistence.