The natural beauties and the richness of the gastronomy, culture, and architecture of Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, are plentiful.

“In this photo, I am looking indignantly at two tourists playing with the Pelourinho, in Mariana (MG). By the way, it was the second moment of the day when we felt in narratives and gestures the disrespect for the memory of the black people. It is not light”. The account by Tulio Custódio was recorded in 2019 but is still current and worth reflecting on how tourism needs to resignify its narratives and value our Afro-Brazilian memory. In the stories told by traditional tourism, for example, it is not mentioned that the reason for the prosperity of the Gold Cycle in the city was the intelligence and technical skills of the Africans who worked in the mines. They already mastered mining techniques and developed new strategies and engineering for work in Ouro Preto, allowing the city and the country to develop.

“For us, the black people, it is a revolution,” assures the historian and researcher of African culture Sidnéia dos Santos. “What has always been taught is that Portugal took gold from Brazil. But there are more layers: the Portuguese kidnapped and enslaved people in Africa, bringing here a people who had knowledge in mining, who were specialists in it,” she examines. “This is a way of telling another side of the story and resignifying the role of the black people in the constitution of the city and our identity,” she maintains.

The researcher mentions that the Africans brought to Ouro Preto were from the regions of Nigeria, Congo, Ghana, and Cameroon, where they were mining specialists. Sidnéia recalls that, in Ouro Preto, many black families, descendants of Africans in the diaspora, bear the surname Ferreira and points out: “It is precisely because of this tradition”.

Chico Rei

“Viviane Gonzaga participated in the tour about Chico Rei

One of the most well-known stories of the city is precisely about a Congolese – and the mine that bears his name is one of the main tourist attractions.

Galanga Chico Rei was a Congolese king who was persecuted and enslaved in his country, and who arrived in Brazil to work in the mines. Despite the adverse conditions of slavery and mine work, he managed to buy his freedom and, subsequently, buy the mine to exploit the resources for his benefit – and also for other enslaved individuals.

With the resources from the mines, he bought other freedoms and freed dozens of other enslaved people in the region. His story became a legend in the region, and he became known as an entrepreneurial king. His strategies used to save money are the themes of a walking tour that takes place in the city – and that you can book on the website!

Mina do Veloso

The civil engineer Eduardo Ferreira bought, restored, and opened the visitation to Mina Du Veloso, located in the neighborhood of the same name in Ouro Preto. His goal was precisely to value the memory of the Africans and the knowledge brought to the city's mining.

The neighborhood, away from the Historic Center, housed several mines during the slavery period, and the name was changed to São Cristóvão, as a way of erasing history.

The work at Mina du Veloso today is to praise the contribution of African slaves to the development of mining in the city, as well as to the economic and cultural wealth of the city.

Eldorado

But Ouro Preto does not live only on mines and mining. Recently, in 2019, illustrations painted on the wall were found in the basement of a house in the city, which were probably of enslaved Africans who lived confined in the space.

The images depict typical animals from the African savanna, such as a kind of bird and a cheetah. There is also a depiction of a mortar, which was not yet an instrument used in the country. There is also the figure of a vessel, which was unusual for the city that does not have a coastline or large rivers for navigation.

According to the researcher Sidneia dos Santos, the vessel represented on the wall resembles those that sailed the Niger River in Nigeria. The site is open for visitation.

In addition to historical relics, in the region near the city, there are waterfalls and nature trails, for example. There are also remaining quilombola communities, where there are tours to get to know the set of houses and some present memories from the colonial period.

The legacy of baroque architecture, marked by the work of the sculptor Aleijadinho and his students, is also a highlight of the city's tourism. But there are other attractions, such as the highly Afro-Brazilian influenced gastronomy, the popular and traditional festivals, as well as the natural beauties of the surroundings.

Telling these stories, valuing the black contribution, is our purpose! Shall we go together?

#VivaDiaspora

*With information from the newspaper O Tempo: https://www.otempo.com.br/interessa/cenas-africanas-sao-encontradas-em-porao-de-casa-centenaria-de-ouro-preto-1.2256524

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