VISUAL STORYTELLING AND GASTRONOMIC HERITAGE: Digital Narratives of Traditional Caribbean Restaurants on Social Media

This study examines how traditional restaurants on the Colombian Atlantic coast employ visual communication strategies on social media platforms to represent gastronomic heritage within contemporary visual culture. Grounded in a visual arts perspective, the research focuses on visual storytelling, aesthetic composition, and digital narratives as mechanisms through which cultural identity and authenticity are constructed and communicated. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study analyses the presence, interaction patterns, and visual formats adopted by restaurants across different platforms, highlighting both communicative practices and technological limitations. The findings reveal a predominance of static visual content and limited innovation, underscoring the need to strengthen visually driven narratives that contribute to both cultural representation and competitive positioning.