Aquilombar-se: o espaço “casa norte” e sua atuação na valorização da cultura e identidade afrobrasileira em Erechim/RS

Abstract

To understand the issues related to the Afro-Brazilian people, it is important to talk about their formation, and there is no better source than the great Brazilian anthropologist and thinker, Darcy Ribeiro, who in summary shows us in his works that the formation of the Brazilian people is a portrait of coexistence and conflicts among different ethnicities, with miscegenation being a driving force in the construction of national identity. In his works, he emphasizes that the appreciation of all contributions is essential to understand the complexity and richness of Brazil (Ribeiro, 1995). From what has been presented, we consider that black cultural production, in the circumstance of the diaspora, has always been engaged in inventing and establishing its own references, its sense of belonging, and even its notion of origin and ancestry with the objective of ensuring the continuity of its memories and existences, considering that in the formation of black cultural identity in the diaspora, ancestry and innovation are complementary dimensions. In this sense, cultural spaces like “Casa Norte” can signify a link for contact and possible (re)construction of the diasporic black identity, awakening memory and the body as a territory of resistance and struggle for the right to exist in Erechim. With the aim of highlighting the experience of the “Casa Norte” space as a territory of urban quilombamento in the city of Erechim/RS and its value in Afro-Brazilian culture and identity, we utilized action research, which was carried out in a space of coexistence and family life (Casa Norte), focusing on the analysis of events promoted in the cultural space. At each event, instruments were applied to gather participants' insights about the space and urban quilombamento. Through the events and the results of the question guide, we consider that the “Casa Norte” Space, through its actions in valuing Afro-Brazilian culture and identity in Erechim/RS, provided pathways and possibilities for contact and possible (re)construction of black identity, awakening memory and culture as territories of resistance and struggle for the right of black people to exist and express themselves in the city of Erechim-RS, also inspiring other people, groups, and collectives in the construction and development of activities and events like those promoted by the “Casa Norte” space during its operation. Such (re)construction is the basis for re-signifying the quilombo of the past for the quilombo of the present, as Beatriz Nascimento shows us well.