Newcomers and old memories: Colonial echoes in a Brazilian cultural heritage site

• In Event: “You can take the boy out of a place, but not the place out of the boy”: Migration and stigmata in Latin American Cities

Abstract

In this paper I describe interpretations of and experiences in the city for Ouro Preto’s temporary and permanent residents. In that UNESCO World Heritage Site, temporary residents, mainly students, have the privilege of central housing whereas permanent residents are usually pushed to the city’s outskirts. This relationship across city spaces is a reminder of colonial relationships that existed in that locality, when newcomers occupied advantaged positions, and colonial terms are up-to-date in narratives that refer to students. However, through ethnographic accounts, I discuss that complexities between the two perceived main groups in town (students and permanent residents) is not simply one of dichotomous rivalry. There are conflicts within groups and cooperation between. Relationships in Ouro Preto, as in other cities, are complex, irregular and temporary. In the past colonial relationships were also complex and not always a dispute between invaders from the cost and natives, but compromises were also part of the gold trade in the region. Nevertheless, the past represented through Ouro Preto’s cultural heritage – in historic and architectonic terms – focuses on a dual story of national heroes and Portuguese invaders. I discuss how the past expressed in buildings and local knowledge invite for an enduring understanding of a city that never changes in excluding its own offspring and may taint current city interactions.

Author

• Andreza Aruska A De Souza Santos, University of Oxford