The streets of the Bixiga neighborhood, in the central region of São Paulo, will be occupied by residents of the neighborhood, samba dancers from the traditional Vai-Vai school and representatives of the black movement this Saturday (2), from 10 am.
The objective: to protect the archaeological site that houses objects from the quilombo of Saracura, found under the old court of the Vai-Vai samba school, during the works of a subway station.
The discovery took place right at the beginning of the construction work of a station on Line 6 – Orange of the Metro, under the responsibility of the Linha Universidade Concessionaire, during a survey required by law.
On April 5, the company A Lasca – Arqueologia, responsible for the study, presented a request with the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) for “authorization for the emergency rescue of the Saracura/14 Bis site”. O document considers the discovery as of “high relevance”, and states that the possibility of destruction of the materials is “certain, due to the works of implantation of Metro Line 6 – Orange.”
According to the company’s assessment, “it is a historic site, with material traces associated, a priori, with occupations from the beginning of the 20th century, characteristic of areas for the disposal of utilitarian objects, such as bottles, crockery, among others .”
Recognition and Preservation
The act will start at 10 am, with concentration in front of 14 Bis square, between Manoel Dutra and Lourenço Granato streets. At 10:30 am, a religious blessing will be held with leaders of African, Catholic and Evangelical religions, followed by the reading of the movement’s manifesto.
The act continues with a march through Manoel Dutra, Santo Antônio, Almirante Marques de Leão, Una and Rocha streets, accompanied by artistic interventions and percussionists.
The action is organized by Mobiliza Saracura Vai-Vai, a movement in defense of the neighborhood’s black legacy. Residents, members of the samba school and members of the black movement and the defense of the memory of the black presence in São Paulo are part of the movement.
Em manifestothe movement calls for the suspension of the subway works “until the preservation of the site is ensured, without the transfer of the findings from the site.”
“Our objective is that the Site allows the construction of a regular and permanent heritage education policy, as well as an effective policy of heritage recognition, preservation and valorization that contemplates the native and African peoples who, over more than three centuries before the arrival of European and Asian immigrants, built Bixiga, São Paulo and Brazil”, says the manifesto, which has already received more than one hundred signatures from entities of the black movement and the academic community.
In addition to the manifesto, the movement launched a public petition by changing the name of Estação 14 Bis to Saracura/Vai-Vai and
historic repair
“Everyone knows that there was a quilombo there, it is a known story, not disseminated, but known to the São Paulo organization. There is a lot of evidence, studies. What we want is to increase our knowledge about this quilombo”, says Gisele Brito , a member of the Peregum Black Reference Institute and Uneafro.
According to her, direct descendants of this quilombola community lived there until the mid-1970s – and even today it is possible to find some people. “Finds from the beginning of the 20th century are also important, it is already 120 years old. Any material remnant from the beginning of the 20th century is important, yes, to understand a black occupation, in a black territory, a territory that is responsible for several spaces of sociability, black political organization and culture”, says Gisele.
“Because of the racism that shapes everything in Brazilian society and economy, Bixiga went down in history as an Italian neighborhood. But the first occupation of the valley floor where the Vai-Vai court operated for more than 50 years was quilombola, of resistance to slavery”, says Luciana Araújo, a resident of Bixiga for 15 years, a member of the MNU and the Black Women’s March.
She says that the descendant population of this quilombo lived there until at least the mid-1970s, “when the Minhocão was built and they were pushed into what is now the district of Cidade Tiradentes, in the extreme east of São Paulo.”
“It is necessary to preserve and make this history known to the entire population of Bixiga, São Paulo and Brazil, as reparation for the crimes of racism in the Brazilian State”, defends Luciana. “That’s why we want a memorial to the quilombo of Saracura and Vai-Vai there, where the quilombo existed, as in Liberdade nearby there are several memorials of Japanese immigration. And in our case it wasn’t even immigration, it was kidnapping and enslavement, so the state owes us that.”
The erasure of black history in São Paulo is nothing new, as shown by the history of the Liberdade-Japão subway, named after the Japanese community that settled in the neighborhood. However, the history of this region begins much earlier, as a space occupied by black people – and stage of violence.
“The square is called Liberdade because of the episode of the hanging of Chaguinhas, a black anti-slavery leader who was hanged there when the city’s pillory operated there”, recalls Luciana. “And the population cried out for his freedom, because the rope broke several times, a cry that was not answered.”
“We want to ensure that the subway can exist in the neighborhood, but without destroying our past, just as in Rio de Janeiro it was possible to revitalize the port area and preserve the memorial at Cais do Valongo, at the Cemitério dos Pretos Novos. , without racist erasure”, he adds.
Maintenance
Last Friday (24), the movements gathered at Mobiliza Saracura Vai-Vai entered the Federal Public Ministry requesting the temporary suspension of the works to guarantee the safety of the objects found. The action also asks for the guarantee of a research plan for these findings, with preference for keeping the objects in place, so as not to lose the link with the community.
In a meeting with the movements that took place this Monday (27), the University Line Concessionaire said that the works are suspended. However, residents continue to hear noises from machines at the construction site. The concessionaire claims that these are containment works, aimed at ensuring the safety of the archaeological excavation.
Editing: Thalita Pires
