The article discusses the concept of memory in the work of Joel Candau. Focuses attention on the importance to different social groups the transmission of memory. Our identity and our social life are constructed, generation after generation, through the management of memory and forgetfulness. It is impossible to think of a cohesive and structured society without this transmission, in which the media and agencies play a key role socialization. In this social construction is a must for the tragedies, as many social groups articulate their identity around them, as a unifying element.