PAST PRESENT
SITES OF MEMORY

The Quilombo of Santa Rita do Bracuí originates from the Santa Rita do Bracuí Plantation. Its main function was to receive illegally enslaved Africans brought to Brazil in the 19th century. After the definitive ban on the Atlantic slave trade to Brazil, the plantation’s owner, José de Souza Breves, freed the captives living there and, in his will, he bequeathed to them the plantation’s territory. The descendants of the freed persons of Bracuí are now the guardians of the memory of African landings in the region, as they continue to fight for the title to their lands. Follow the tour and learn about the Quilombo of Bracuí through jongo and through stories told by quilombo residents. For a guided tour and more information, contact Francisco de Souza Marilda: (24) 99956-6704 or (24) 3369-3767.

Visitors will have the opportunity to visit a part of the city of Rio de Janeiro that, in the early 20th century, the artist and samba composer Heitor dos Prazeres called “Little Africa.” Used widely in books, lyrics, and samba school storylines, the term came to identify a significant part of Rio’s port area where the African presence and black cultural heritage forever influenced not only the history of Rio de Janeiro, but of all Brazil.

Between the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, the area was characterized by commercial activity and the arrival of enslaved Africans. Today the ruins of the Valongo Wharf and the Cemetery of the Pretos Novos (recently arrived Africans) mark the passage of more than one million Africans through Little Africa, a story of pain and suffering that cannot be forgotten. At the turn of the 19th century to the 20th, the cultural life of Little Africa and the city itself were renewed with the arrival of black migrants, especially those coming from Bahia and the old coffee plantations of the Paraíba Valley, as well as of Portuguese, Italian, and Jewish Immigrants.

Little Africa became an important center for Rio’s black culture and for new forms of political mobilization, such as unions, “capoeiras,” “casas de santo” (Candomblé religious centers), birth-strikes, urban uprisings, and new musical genres. In this context, samba emerged as a particularly distinctive genre and gained visibility throughout the country; in addition, various black associations were founded as well as social clubs and dance clubs, each with its own Carnival group, that linked Little Africa with the most modern musical and artistic styles of the time.

The Little Africa walking tour is supported by the Art Museum of Rio (MAR). Nineteen principal sites are marked on the main map. For three of them (MAR, Quilombo Pedra do Sal, and the Instituto dos Pretos Novos), QR codes let you hear community leaders and historians talking about the historical importance of the region. There are another 42 sites on the tour – 7 of which are related to the street gatherings of capoeira in Rio – and can be accessed via the “Near Me” function.

The city of Pinheiral developed around the former train station of Pinheiro Plantation, and was populated by black migrants after the abolition of slavery in 1888. The city has a unique concentration of great jongueiros, and is thus known as the Capital of Jongo of the State of Rio de Janeiro. Follow the tour and learn about the black experience in Pinheiral through jongo and trough stories told by city residents. For a guided tour and more information, contact Maria de Fátima da Silveira Santos: (24) 99221-7212.

The Quilombo of São José da Serra was formed in the 19th century by descendants of the slaves who lived on the São José Plantation, owned by Tertuliano and Miquelina. In the late 19th century, with the fight to end slavery, the site became an abolitionist quilombo. Today, its residents maintain traditions that recall times of both captivity and freedom. They also preserve the African origins of their ancestors, especially on the famous parties of May 13th (the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in 1888), when jongo and caxambu are performed, part of the cultural heritage brought from Central Africa. Follow the tour and learn about the Quilombo of São José through jongo and through stories told by quilombo residents. For a guided tour and more information, contact Antônio do Nascimento Fernandes: (24) 2457-1130 or (24) 99841-6213.