This article deals with the themes related to the construction of generational dynamics and the memory work activated by certain agents on a specific historical moment. In order to do that, a brief bibliographical discussion is firstly proposed on the notions of "generation" and "memory", specially on their heuristic potential. Afterwards, an analysis is developed of a group of narratives and tributes centered on the leftist youth's mobilization within Rio Grande de Sul's MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement) in the "struggle against the dictatorship" (specially the examination of state parliament special session as a posthumous tribute to sociologist and political leader André C. Forster). Based on thos e two moments we intend to discuss the operational use of some categories to understand historical moments and the characters that animate them.
generation; political engagement; youth