Note from BW of Brazil: A few days ago on the day, the blog featured a brief profile of Marcilene Garcia de Souza, a professor and militant of black history and visibility in the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. As mentioned in that post, the history of Afro-Brazilians in the country’s three most southern states has always been, for the most part invisible, as the states sought to portray this region as the whitest and most European part of Brazil. While it is true that a late 19th century elite plan for massive European immigration to whiten the country does indeed account for this region having the largest percentage of persons who consider themselves to be white, there is also a history of African descendants that is beginning to come to the fore. The article below explains how a museum is doing its part in recovering this history.
On May 16th, the Paranaense Museum, located in the state of Paraná in southern Brazil, began presenting the exhibition “Negros no Paraná: passado e presente (Blacks in Paraná: Past and Present)” about the presence of African descendants in the state. Besides the exhibition, other events will discuss the theme “negro no Paraná (black in Paraná)”, until September 15. Admission is free.
The exposition is composed of six photographic panels that depict images of historical monuments and characters of the past with an interface of manifestations and personalities of the present. Among the topics covered are profession, culture, religion and its importance in building the mosaic population of Curitiba (capital city) and Paraná.
The social construction of Paraná is linked to the process by which several people, groups, settlers and immigrants came to the state. Together, one must consider the presence of the population contingent of cultures of African and Afro-Brazilian origin.
The historical, sociological and anthropological dimension of the state dates back to a past of permanent contributions and a present of increasing visibility. The characters and monuments of this story weave men and women, young and old, and written reports, synchronously, in a tangle of lives past and present in interaction between the various groups of our social mosaic. Besides the exhibition, other events will discuss the theme “black in Paraná”.
Source: Agência Estadual de Notícias
Leave a Reply