This article reflects on the passage of signs through the socioeconomic universe of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, and the establishment of identity and representation in various texts from both the literature and cultural critique dealing with the issue. Adopting a perspective based on cultural critique and/or cultural studies, the article analyzes the complexity of the relationship between narration and representation, elaborating a synthesis of the notion of region in the area around what is known as the Pantanal (Swampland) in Mato Grosso do Sul. The study concludes that the passage and circulation of cultural signs occur as a discursive agency which alternately reflects both the object of representation and the mask, since the nature of this object appears as the emblematic fabric of a shattered body.
Identity and representation; cultural studies; critique