VALONGO WHARF (RJ): APPROPRIATIONS, MEMORIES, AND CELEBRATIONS

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the appropriations and the uses that different social actors make of the Valongo Wharf, in the port region of Rio de Janeiro, revealing how the place condenses diverse representations and significations. To this end, we selected some celebrations related with associations of the Black and the afro-religious movement. We considered that they emphasize how this place of memory can be seen as a stimulus to the constant reflection over Brazil’s slaver past and the recognition of the legacy of the Black populations, who were enslaved, to the construction of the national identity. In other words, by analyzing some celebrations emphasizing the African heritage, we propose to discuss how the different narratives on the place are constructed, which can be seen as a stimulus to the constant reflection about the past and the present, as a place of engagement, of fight against all types of inequality, against religious intolerance, as well as a place of respect to ethnic and religious diversity.

Keywords:
Valongo Wharf; Appropriations; Black movement; Religious intolerance; Celebrations