São Vincente and Ze's mythic creatures

After a little break on the northern coast of Sao Paulo, I am back to blogging, and my journey has moved further north and inland into Minas Gerias. The first stop is São Vincente, a small town in the interior of rural Minas, to visit an old friend, Ze Geraldo.

While I am introducing people, it would be a convinient time to introduce also a new project, which will feature in this blog. This is to create the likeness of a mythical being or group of beings suggested by people on my journey incorporating, as much as possible, something from the place where these people live.



First up is Ze, who when requested to suggest a mythical beast offered a winged unicorn. When it later became clear what I what I meant to include by using the term 'myth'; the word didn't have an intimidating granite portal replete with clkassical columns, and did not exclude on terms of origin, class or anything else and would include what he had termed 'folkloric', he decided to add a more local being called Curupira. He is the guardian of the forset who has back-to-front feet and therefore presents to any pursuers hunters reverse tracks thererby leading them the wrong way. We decided that he should be leading the unicorn.

This elevation of Classical European myth above any other is perhaps unsuprising in a country with such a history of European colonial hegemony. Although Brazil is some time after independence, and has been preaching and practising a cosmopolitan culture reflective of its ethnic diversity, there is still an evident conservatism which looks toward old Europe, in fact a Europe which in reality has long become dated.

It is not difficult to see in a place like São Vincente a vignette of Brazila nd it's historical relics. It is a town whose skyline is dominated by its two catholoic churches, one on each of its hills and the surrounding vast fazendas (farms) and peopled by the decendents of land owners, slaves and indentured workers. It is, I guess, what would be descibed as a typical small town, keen to preserve more than anything else.

                                           broken statues of saints left as offerings at a crossroad crucifix