THE BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST BACKWOODS (SERTÃO) IN THE PLOTS OF RIO DE JANEIRO SAMBA SCHOOLS

Abstract

The objective of this work is to analyze the different discursive and imagetic representations about the Brazilian northeast backwoods (Sertão, from now on) in the plots of Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools. Starting from the bibliographic research on the historical trajectory of the Samba Schools and the evolution of the plots, and then to the documentary research (synopsis, lyrics of the samba songs, The “Abre-Alas” Book etc.), seven plots were analyzed, presented by the Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools in the Special Group between the years 2002 and 2019. It was found that the discourses and images in the plots represented the Sertão from the natural elements of its landscape, but they were also based on its human and cultural aspects. In this context, the region as a whole and its various realities can be understood as a set that is subject to be carnivalized through colors, shapes and types, composing playful representations about society and the regional dynamics. It is concluded, therefore, that these representations were not dissociated from the popular beliefs historically created about the Northeast itself, in which its characteristics (geographic, social, economic, cultural, etc.) were accepted as the ones that reaffirm its insertion in the socio-spatial dynamics of other regions and of the country.