RETELLING THE STORY IN CORDEL LINES: AN ANALYSIS OF "O IMPOSTO DO VINTÉM", BY JOÃO SANT'ANNA DE MARIA, SANTANINHA

Abstract

This study presents, from the perspective of the dialogue between History and Literature, an analysis of the cordel poem "O imposto do vintém" (1880), by João Sant’Anna de Maria, known as Santaninha, who is considered the first poet-reporter in Brazil. The cordel pamphlet in question is inspired by the "Revolta do Vintém" (Vintém Revolt), which took place in 1880 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This revolt occured because of a tax of twenty réis (one "vintém") levied on the tram tickets price and lasted from December 28, 1879 to January 4, 1880. The consequence of this protest was dozens of dead and injured people on the streets of the Brazilian Empire's capital. Santaninha examines this episode a few months after the revolt comes to an end. The theoretical base for this analysis consists of reference works on the themes, with an emphasis on the studies of Certeau (1982), Luyten (1992), Viana; Lima (2017) and White (1994). Based on these and other reference works, the analysis shows that, in the plot development, which is organized in sestets (stanzas with six lines), the marks that characterize the poetry-reports are evident: the concern to record the data references of the event (date, space, etc.), the historical contextualization and the unfolding of the events, the mention of the central figures of the movement. After the analysis of this work, this study proposes a reflection on the dialogues between Literature and History, focusing on the comparison between the historical data of the Vintém Revolt and its aesthetic representation by Santaninha.

Keywords: Cordel Literature; Vintém Tax; Santaninha; Poetry and Reportage; History x Literature.