IMPORTED AMUSEMENT: CULTURAL COLONIZATION IN NORTHERN MINAS GERAIS’S HINTERLAND (SERTÃO)

Abstract

This study analyzed the development of modern aspects of life in the first half of the 20th century in the city of Montes Claros, northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, and discussed the social tensions between acquisition of new habits and old local traditions. Information was sought from Gazeta do Norte, the most widely read newspaper in the city in 1918-1962. The study found that, in the Brazilian hinterland (known as sertão) of the 20th Century, forms of amusement were created amid tensions between tradition and the modernity. In addition, local time and space have established relations with the work/entertainment binomial in Montes Claros. The advent of modernity allowed appropriation - not without resistance and tensions - of a set of values and practices that were different from those that had prevailed in the social order so far.

Keywords:
Leisure activities; History, 20th Century; Sports; Work