Quilombo Sacopã Cultural Association (Rio de Janeiro)
The Voice of Quilombo Sacopã – In defense of the Right to the City
Rio de Janeiro
Objectives and target population:
The project’s main objective is the permanence of the Quilombo Sacopã community in its traditional territory and the acquisition of the definitive title thereof. The association looks to mobilize residents and publicize the issue of the right to the city in the midst of Rio de Janeiro’s speculative “boom” of recent years, worsened by the preparations for the coming sports mega-events: the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. The quilombo is located in Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a wealthy area of Rio. There are seven families totaling 28 people in all.
Main activities:
– Rebuilding the association’s office to organize activities;
– Legal training for the quilombo residents with the support of a lawyer, so that they can accompany legal cases and lawsuits together with the community;
– Public mobilizations to obtain definitive title to Quilombo Sacopã and for the land to be recognized by the Rio de Janeiro city hall as an “Area of Cultural Interest”;
– Holding seminars to clarify to society at large the importance of quilombos to the city;
– Elaboration of informative materials for print and RadioTV on the internet: “RádioTV QuiGeral”;
– Training residents to use digital media and social networks on the internet.
Context:
Quilombo Sacopã was constituted in 1929, with the arrival of the Pinto family grandparents to the 18.8 thousand square meter area granted by their bosses on the banks of the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (lagoon) in Rio de Janeiro. Its certification as a traditional quilombo territory took place in 2004, through the Palmares Cultural Foundation. As the last living traditional black community on the south side of Rio de Janeiro, Sacopã serves as a memorial, by virtue of its uniqueness as a popular nucleus in that neighborhood.
In the 1960s and 70s, the Quilombo began to suffer pressure from the state of Rio de Janeiro and from interlopers interested in promoting real estate development in the area. Currently, 11.8 thousand square meters of its original area are occupied by three neighboring buildings. After the World Cup and Olympics were announced, the community suffered several attempts to construct a hotel and restaurant at the location.
The Quilombo today is the target of two lawsuits: one filed by a real estate agency requesting possession of the area; and another from the Lagoa Azul, Camburi and Cidade da Guarda private residential communities, who want to prohibit commercial and cultural activities in the area.
One common point of interest among activists, artists and intellectuals engaged with or sympathetic to the causes of quilombos and black culture, is a monthly feijoada and samba event that’s been held for the last forty years. The suit by the residential communities culminated with the doors to the quilombo being chained and locked, blocking the free passage of community members during ten days in July, 2011.
Another setback for the residents was the veto by the mayor, Eduardo Paes, of law number 1092/2011, approved by the city council in June, 2012, that would have made Quilombo Sacopã an Area of Cultural Interest.
About the organization:
The Quilombo Sacopã Cultural Association was founded and registered in 1992, with the permanence of the quilombo community in its traditional territory as its mission. Faced with pressure and under siege from real estate speculation, the group’s strategy has been to promote quilombo culture and traditions through music and other cultural activities.
Partnerships:
Since the 1980s, the association has been affiliated with the Black Movement (IPCN) and the groups that fought for the constitution of 1988 to recognize the rights of quilombos. It is a part of the National Coordination of Rural Black Quilombo Communities Network (Conaq) and the Remaining Quilombo Communities of Rio de Janeiro Association (ACQUILERJ), on which it presides.
Funding Line
Urban Development (2012)
Year
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Total Granted
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Duration
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Main Themes
Rights of Maroon and Traditional Populations