FROM THE MOST VIOLENT PLACE IN THE WORLD TO THE PLACE OF SAMBA -

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Mostly originated from peripheral subdivisions, the correlations made to the Baixada Fluminense in the 1970s, associated it with death squads, poverty, the “place far away”, “roça” etc. In addition to these negative conceptions, in the second half of this decade, a cultural aspect could be added, arising from the Beija-Flor Samba School in Nilópolis, when this became the first carnival group outside the capital to win the carnival. In this sense, the article in question aims to discuss the nature of the identity built around this association for the set of municipalities in Baixada. To achieve this goal, we opted for documentary research with the purpose of gathering information about our object of study, thus contextualizing the genesis of positive identity formation in the region. Our analysis pointed out that in a context in which the imaginative geographies referring to the Baixada Fluminense were mostly negative, the carnival institution in question became a positive attribute associated with the region and, thus, forged an identity beyond its home municipality.

KEYWORDS: Identity; Baixada Fluminense; Beija-Flor of Nilópolis; Carnival.