O Campo Grande's birthday It's this Saturday, the 26th. The “Brown City”, as Campo Grande is also known, turns 124 years old.
To celebrate and learn more about the history from Campo de Grande, we went to talk to Professor Maria Madalena Dib Mereb from the Historical and Geographical Institute/MS.
See what to know about the city and how to prepare for any questions in the National High School Exam (Enem) about it.
Campo Grande's birthday
According to Professor Madalena, Campo Grande's birthday is celebrated with various presentations, parades and attractions with local and national artists. These events take over the city streets and people's memories.
The teacher also says that on the anniversary of Campo Grande both the city's inhabitants feel an integral part of Campo Grande culture, how visitors and tourists feel welcomed and welcome. The cultural plurality of the city can be well observed during this time of year.
History of Campo Grande
The foundation of Campo Grande, according to Professor Madalena, cannot be entirely credited to a single person. She says that several people participated in the process of building the city.
Madalena tells us that the place where the city of Campo Grande is today was a crossing point for many involved in the Paraguayan War. From deserting soldiers to merchants who collected the spoils of battles, everyone passed by.
These people took valuable information about the richness of the place to the Minas Gerais, a region facing the decline of mining. The news arriving added to the difficulties that were imposed on the garimpeiros corroborated with the migration to the West.
Some people consider José Antônio Pereira as the founder of the city. However, the educator claims that historical sources record that when José Antônio Pereira arrived in the Campo Grande region he found with men who already had farms and farms there.
A figure that deserves to be highlighted in the early days of Campo Grande is the Aunt Eva. She was an enslaved black woman who achieved her manumission in 1887, at the age of 49. At the beginning of the 20th century, she went to Mato-Grosso do Sul and founded the Quilombola Community of São Benedito.
According to Madalena, Aunt Eva was a true matriarch who worked with blessings and also with healing processes for various diseases. In addition, she was also a midwife and brought many Sul-Mato-Grossenses to the world.
Over the years, Campo Grande earned the nickname of Cana do Oeste, as it had a large number of springs, and was a very prosperous land. What attracted Paraguayans, Japanese, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Arabs, Italians, Portuguese, Poles, among many other peoples to the region.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
Culture and nature in the city of Campo Grande
One of Campo Grande's nicknames is Cidade Morena. This name was given because of the red earth of the city, a sign of great fertility. This demonstrates how in the Campo Grande region nature helps shape culture and vice versa.
The teacher comments on historical reports about the large number of springs in the region, an important factor in establishing a city. She also talks about how the geography and natural conditions of Campo Grande conquered travelers and researchers, making the railroads pass through the region.
Madalena emphasizes the ease of moving around Campo Grande and recalls the size of the municipality, which was immense and extended to where Ribas do Rio Pardo is today.
With size, fertile land and many rivers, the nature and geography of Campo Grande brought people from all over the world to the city, demonstrating once again the intense relationship of these two areas in the capital of Mato Grosso do Sul.
What to know about Campo Grande for the Enem
For the Enem, the teacher says that it is important to pay attention to the historiographical debate surrounding the history of the city. She says it's good to remember that there are several versions about the foundation and that it's important to know what they say.
Campo Grande is a relevant city at the beginning of the 20th century from the point of view of the fall of Empire and the establishment of the Republic. However, her story also marks the pages of It was Vargas, because it was one of the stages of march west.
Therefore, it is good to study how these Historical processes help shape cities. From the decadence of mining to the rise of Getúlio Vargas' comprehensive policy.
By Tiago Vechi
Journalist