During the Old Republic, Brazil experienced a situation of change, transformation. The country began to abandon its essentially rural characteristics and then experience the growth of the country's urban centers. However, this was just the beginning of the change. The vast majority of the population remained uneducated and the cultural and artistic debate was still reclusive among economic elites.
With the end of slavery, the Old Republic was marked by the arrival of many blacks who left the old properties in search of better opportunities. In Rio de Janeiro, many of them clustered in tenements and port districts, organizing communities where, at the same time they helped each other, they also experimented with demonstrations. diverse arts.
From a historical point of view, samba, maxixe and choro gained form and possibility at that time. In the so-called aunts' houses, several blacks and other elements of Rio's urban society gathered at parties that were already known as “samba” at that time. On festive dates, popular musicians went out on the streets organizing the so-called “cordões”, which indicated a simpler organization of future samba school parades.
At the same time, we see that Brazil also received a large number of European immigrants who were escaping the misery and difficulties imposed by the First World War. In general, these immigrants arrived in the country with the objective of occupying job vacancies in the industries that appeared in the big cities, considering that they had experience as workers in their land Christmas.
Along with the dream of a better life in Brazilian lands, these European immigrants arrived here also bringing the political values of communist and anarchist thought. In various situations, dissatisfied with the injustices of our country, they disseminated their ideals of struggle and contestation in newspapers and public demonstrations. They reached the point of organizing popular schools, seeking to educate their children according to their political ideals.
In the field of literature and arts, we see that some members of our elites brought aesthetic issues undertaken in Europe to the Brazilian context. The so-called modernists organized themselves into discussion circles thinking about the identity of our culture. They were tired of the old habit of thinking that Brazil would only become “cultured” and “civilized” by imitating the values that came from abroad.
The result of all this discussion was the Week of Modern Art of 1922, which took place in the city of São Paulo. In this event, new painters, writers and poets appeared to the public exposing that Brazil had its own cultural wealth to be known and appreciated. In historical terms, the event indicated that Brazil could no longer be understood by the values of Europe or as a simple grain-producing granary for the world.
This is how we see the transformations experienced at the time of the Old Republic. Much still had to change, the vast majority of the population was illiterate and popular order demonstrations did not always gain prestige. On the other hand, the debate about “the face of Brazil”, of its culture, began to point to other directions and possibilities.
Take the opportunity to check out our video lesson related to the subject:
