Copacabana Palace: imaginário, consumo e estilos de vida no palácio da Princesinha do Mar.

Abstract

The paper proposes an analysis of the Copacabana Place Hotel from the communicational perspective, emphasizing its possible overlappi ng with the Rio de Janeiro city's imaginary. Opened on August 13, 1923 in Copacabana (in Atlantic Avenue), the building is a symbol of the Rio de Janeiro and Brazil - both within the country and worldwide. The study has investigated the representations and shared values regarding the Coapcabana Palace, also taking into consideration the sociology of imaginary. It has also proposed to analyse the productions system on the utterances mediated by the media and the communication aspects related to the hotel. The research is based on the qualitative methodology approach, and during its development primary and secondary sources have been examinated. To obtain the primary data, there have been made individual interviews based on a structured questionnaire. The analysis also includes the concepts of brand equity by pointing out the hotel is an important piece to Rio de Janeiro city's imaginary and aims to demonstrate its meaningful representations to the urban everyday life of the city. The study points out that the hotel Copacabana Palace is a kind of "legend" in the famous promenade of Copacabana beach.