{"id":29916,"date":"2016-06-30T10:09:34","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T13:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=29916"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:08:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:08:54","slug":"uplifting-and-essential-community-museum-of-mare-celebrates-10-years-amidst-threats-of-eviction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=29916","title":{"rendered":"Uplifting and Essential Community Museum of Mar\u00e9 Celebrates 10 Years Amidst Threats of Eviction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1T7pRnW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong><em>Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-23766\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/PT-e1439583827971.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>For the original article by Miriane Peregrino\u00a0in Portuguese published by\u00a0Jornal O Cidad\u00e3o\u00a0<\/em><em>click<\/em> <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1T7pRnW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Museu da Mar\u00e9 has existed and fought to remain for 10 years. Today the resistance is against the threat of eviction by Grupo Libra, the company that owns the space where the museum is located.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>A museum from the bottom up<\/h3>\n<p>On Mother&#8217;s Day 2016,\u00a0Sunday May 8, the home of Mar\u00e9&#8217;s memory\u2013the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1CSqPIR\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a>\u2013 turned 10 years old. Launched\u00a0May 8, 2006, by a group of residents in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rNMXO3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a>, the largest complex\u00a0of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, the museum is a national and international reference in the area of social museology. This is not only due to the fact that it preserves the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1HV2Xob\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">memory<\/a> of the lower socio-economic classes, but also because it is a bottom-up initiative from within the favela, shifting the power center of decision-making regarding what is memorable in the city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe museum builds\u00a0a history that is viewed from below and that is separate from official historiography, which is always the story of the winners, the story we are used to hearing since we were children,\u201d observes historian and Mar\u00e9 resident Humberto Salustriano, 37. \u201cThe <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/265Z9zU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/a> is the opportunity of telling this story from the perspective of those who are considered subordinate, \u2018the conquered.\u2019 This is why the museum is important. It is counter-hegemonic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fransisco Overlande, 42, is also a historian and Mar\u00e9 resident. He affirms that the Museu da Mar\u00e9 helps rupture the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1mMWbet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stereotypes<\/a> surrounding the favela and its residents: \u201cThe fact that the\u00a0museum exists is already very symbolic and representative. It contrasts with the idea that museums must have a profile and be in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1k2qNJE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">certain areas of the city<\/a>. Having a <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1QfcgGi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">museum<\/a> in the favela ruptures\u00a0that.\u201d Fransisco illustrates this disruption of stereotypes by recounting the reaction of some taxi drivers when asked to be taken to the Mar\u00e9 museum: \u201cWhen I say, \u2018Leave me at the Museu da Mar\u00e9,\u2019 the taxi drivers ask: &#8216;What? There are <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1nwqlO1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">museums in the favelas<\/a>?'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Visual artist and art history professor at the\u00a0Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), Leila Danziger, 54, recently visited the museum and stated that \u201cit was an expansive experience regarding the territories of the city\u201d where she was born and lives. \u201cVisiting the Museu da Mar\u00e9 expanded my capacity to imagine the city in space and time and helps me think of and wish for a city that resists capital, speculation, and dangerously hegemonic narratives, and which becomes more inclusive, human, and complex,\u201d said Leila Danziger, who lives in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/19lv7zt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Copacabana<\/a> in the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1pfz23A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">South Zone<\/a> of the city. \u201cFrom the museum we can understand that in Mar\u00e9 there\u00a0live and have lived generations that literally built Rio and were perversely excluded from the project of the marvelous\u00a0city. Of course the Museu da Mar\u00e9 is fundamental for us to imagine the city\u2013imagine in the strong sense. We need not only politics, but also imagination brought by <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1MjZbLO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">art<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/23kG6zk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">literature<\/a> to shape a city that effectively belongs to everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another important aspect to highlight is that the Museu da Mar\u00e9 is not a museum for mere contemplation. The dynamics of acquiring objects and integrating with the space amplify its potential as a non-formal educational space. What most impressed Danziger were the \u201cconcepts that structure the museum and guide the visit.\u201d According to her, \u201cthe scenography is potent and discreet at the same time, welcoming without sensationalizing or fetishizing memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Although formally established as a museum in 2006, the Museu da Mar\u00e9\u2019s preservation of the favela&#8217;s memory goes back to the 1980s when residents began conducting\u00a0interviews for Mar\u00e9 TV and producing a large amount of journalistic and historical material on the favela.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13173888_1335415093142345_2653316338493102713_n-605x403.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-29999 size-full\" title=\"The pre-college course class on the military dictatorship in April 2016. Photo by Jos\u00e9 Arimet\u00e9ia\/CPV CEASM\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13173888_1335415093142345_2653316338493102713_n-605x403.jpg\" alt=\"The pre-college course class on the military dictatorship in April 2016. Photo by Jos\u00e9 Arimet\u00e9ia\/CPV CEASM\" width=\"605\" height=\"403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13173888_1335415093142345_2653316338493102713_n-605x403.jpg 605w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13173888_1335415093142345_2653316338493102713_n-605x403-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>Mar\u00e9 residents occupy the museum with\u00a0diverse activities<\/h3>\n<p>Internal projects by <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1zyfb2g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CEASM<\/a> (Mar\u00e9 Center of Solidarity Studies and Actions) and external group projects both from Mar\u00e9 as well as from other parts of the city are also hosted at the Museu da Mar\u00e9. Francisco Overlande, who is also coordinator of CEASM&#8217;s\u00a0college entrance exam preparatory course, states that classes are held throughout the year at the museum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the museum was created, we host activities there because the museum is a project of CEASM. Every time extra activities are necessary such as group classes, networking events, or any other specific event that requires a larger space, the museum is the place we use.\u201d Francisco also says that this relationship is not limited to using the physical space, since the educators and students of the course go to the museum also because of the activities it offers.<\/p>\n<p>The college entrance\u00a0exam course was created in 1997 and annually receives around 150 students who live in and nearby Mar\u00e9 favelas. The community pre-college exam course has a long history of young people from the lower socio-economic classes being approved for public universities in Rio de Janeiro. Just last year, around 30 students from the course gained places at public universities. It is important to highlight that the collective work of the educators is voluntary, without financial compensation.<\/p>\n<p>On May 7, the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1qVh2cQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">community newspaper <em>O Cidad\u00e3o<\/em><\/a> held a class from their annual community communication course at the Museu da Mar\u00e9. According to <em>O Cidad\u00e3o<\/em> reporter and Mar\u00e9 resident, Valdirene Milit\u00e3o, 42, the\u00a0course always addresses the history of Mar\u00e9 and includes\u00a0a guided visit to the museum, as well as using the space to host some classes from the course curriculum. \u201cWe always host some activity at the museum because of the history of Mar\u00e9 and because of the exhibition,\u201d reports Valdirene, one of the organizers of <em>O Cidad\u00e3o<\/em>&#8216;s fourth community communication course. \u201cWhen we bring students, when we hold classes here, it\u2019s a way of strengthening this space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/298PfcQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maremoto Theater Group<\/a>, which began in the workshops of the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2901ROF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mar\u00e9 Theater of the Oppressed Center<\/a> in the community, uses the Museu da Mar\u00e9 to store equipment and rehearse. The idea is to also hold performances\u00a0at the museum. Vinicius Alves, 19, resident and community representative\u00a0for <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/293CZt5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Theater of the Oppressed<\/a>, reported that Maremoto is a play on words that means \u201cMar\u00e9 in movement of the theater of the oppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a resident, I think it is really interesting to have this museum and for us to have a space here where we can rehearse just proves that the museum was made for the residents. So much so that not only are we\u00a0here, but there are also other workshops that cater to the population too,&#8221; affirms\u00a0Vin\u00edcius Alves.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;This museum\u00a0(as) a\u00a0space here where we can rehearse just proves that the museum was made for the residents..&#8221; &#8211; Vin\u00edcius Alves<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Carlos Gon\u00e7alves, 25, a Mar\u00e9 resident and member of the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1YMp1ub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rio de Janeiro Youth Forum<\/a>, recalls that it was through the\u00a0event they held using the Museu da Mar\u00e9 space that they began to promote\u00a0the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1WKKBQ3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">app \u201cN\u00f3s Por N\u00f3s\u201d<\/a> (Us for Us) in the favela complex: \u201cThe Museu da Mar\u00e9 provided space for us to perform an intervention here in Mar\u00e9 and promote\u00a0the app. The process of promoting\u00a0the &#8216;N\u00f3s Por N\u00f3s&#8217; app in\u00a0Mar\u00e9 began here at museum. The museum has always helped us by providing space for <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/YpL80A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">human rights<\/a> activities and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1HtiSgi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">social movements<\/a>, especially for this debate on the issue of the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/20YT9bY\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">genocide of black youth<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mar\u00e91-1024x683.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30003 size-large\" title=\"Students of the community communication course \" src=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mar\u00e91-1024x683-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Students of the community communication course \" width=\"620\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mar\u00e91-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mar\u00e91-1024x683-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/mar\u00e91-1024x683-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>Visitors describe their experiences at the Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/h3>\n<p>Students from <em>O Cidad\u00e3o<\/em>&#8216;s fourth\u00a0community communication course, Carolina Marinho, \u00cdtala Barros, Josiane Santana, and Luana de Moraes, who had\u00a0class at the Museu da Mar\u00e9 commented on their impressions of the place. \u201cI graduated in journalism, but the real school for me has been here,\u201d began Carolina, a resident of <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rtohzT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m in touch with incredible people who are showing me another perspective of what it means to narrate the day-to-day life of a community, what it is to actually communicate, and the museum\u2026 I\u2019m completely enchanted. It\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Josiane Santana, also a resident of\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rtohzT\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complexo do Alem\u00e3o<\/a>, was also impressed by the museum: \u201cWhen I set foot here and came in through the room, I already thought the museum was fantastic. It\u2019s a very different museum from what we\u2019re used to seeing. I felt as if I were at home. When I saw these pictures in the shack\u2026\u201d\u2013she said, pointing to the walls of the house\u2013\u201cit reminded me a lot of my grandmother\u2019s house, the pictures, the old photos. It brings back a lot of family memories, you know? This thing of the past, of what\u00a0our great-grandmother\u2019s house or our grandmother\u2019s house was like. I found it very cozy, very familiar, and it moved me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00cdtala Barros, resident of <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1dVsdmj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">S\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o de Meriti<\/a>\u00a0in the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1wAJ14x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Baixada Fluminense<\/a>, associated the museum with memories of the Rio\u00a0suburbs: \u201cI think today is the best class because this place is very big, very beautiful, and has a wealth of detail that doesn\u2019t only tell the story of Mar\u00e9, but also discusses the history of the suburbs. I think everyone who comes in here will find at least one thing that reminds them of their grandmother, great-grandmother, or someone from their family, because there are a lot of converging points!\u201d stated \u00cdtala.<\/p>\n<p>Luana de Moraes also found it fundamental to have class there: \u201cIt\u2019s the type of communication I believe in, and seeing this happen in practice is totally different than when I would see and reflect on it, you know? So it\u2019s been incredible for my life, for my profession. I&#8217;m going to think of other ways to go beyond academics, and I think that\u2019s essential.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the organizers of the course, Valdirene Milit\u00e3o, recalled the impact that the wooden shack\u00a0displayed at the museum caused on her first visit: \u201cI love the museum. It\u2019s my kind of thing. This little shack\u2026 My house, which was a shack, was just like this one. The first time I came here I was moved. I cried. My mother cried. My sister cried. My niece got to know the place where we lived. Today people see a lot of brick houses, and when you talk about shacks, they don\u2019t really have a notion of what they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI love the museum. It\u2019s my kind of thing. This little shack\u2026 My house, which was a shack, was just like this one. The first time I came here I was moved. I cried. My mother cried. My sister cried. My niece got to know the place where we lived. Today people see a lot of brick houses, and when you talk about shacks, they don\u2019t really have a notion of what they are.\u201d &#8211; Valdirene Milit\u00e3o<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Le\u00efla Danziger, professor at UERJ, reported that she would gaze at the shacks of Mar\u00e9 when she would go down\u00a0Avenida Brasil by car. She\u00a0stated that she did not know how much of this memory is mixed with photos she&#8217;s seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis memory, although vague and uncertain, was activated by the visit to the museum, which combines history, memory, and fiction, and which thus produces and projects possible identities and destinies\u00a0onto those who live in Mar\u00e9 and all Cariocas. There, everyone is invited and welcome\u2013those who live in the Mar\u00e9 communities and those who pass by car far away. By\u00a0visiting the museum, you can include territories of the city based on other parameters, distinct from the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1ZTuC5k\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">violence<\/a> propagated by the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1hQ5xGL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">media<\/a>\u201d argues Danziger. \u201cThe Museu da Mar\u00e9\u2013at that particular place, with its specific history (which resists speculation\u2026)\u2013is fundamental for the city to resist and open up in multiple narratives and more dignified possibilities of life, because it is marked by the memories and singularities of each person, each group, each generation\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-18805 size-content\" title=\"Banners at the Museu da Mar\u00e9 March\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March-620x264.jpg\" alt=\"Banners at the Museu da Mar\u00e9 March\" width=\"620\" height=\"264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March-620x264.jpg 620w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March-768x327.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March-300x128.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March-940x400.jpg 940w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Banners-Museu-da-Mar\u00e9-March.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Right to memory: the current situation at\u00a0the Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/h3>\n<p>Since September 2014 when the Museu da Mar\u00e9 received am\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1y6nJ4c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">eviction notice<\/a>\u00a0from the Grupo Libra de Navega\u00e7\u00f5es company, the team at the museum (of which I was a part at the time) has maintained\u00a0a <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1tFaHUr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">campaign for the continuity of the museum at the building<\/a>. At that time, Complexo da Mar\u00e9 was <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1zYhvAc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">occupied by the armed forces<\/a> in an attempt by the state to promote security (or at least the sensation of security) for the national and foreign tourists visiting\u00a0the city for the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1zYhvAc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">FIFA World Cup<\/a> in Brazil. The <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/TJf8CL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">real estate speculation<\/a> that occurred with the militarization of Rio&#8217;s favelas after the introduction of the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1lIGSxv\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pacifying Police Units (UPPs)<\/a> and also measures considered to be urgent such as occupation by armed forces seemed to be the main cause for the Libra Group&#8217;s request to return the property. After almost two years, the campaign that had begun with huge\u00a0participation in a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bitly.com\/1pKP8Ri\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">protest against the end of the museum on Avenida Brasil<\/a> turned into more timid demonstrations of support and many attempts of dialogue by the board of directors of the museum with the Grupo Libra de Navega\u00e7\u00f5es company through the government.<\/p>\n<p>According to the coordinator of the Museu da Mar\u00e9, Cl\u00e1udia Rose Ribeiro, the museum&#8217;s situation hasn&#8217;t advanced: \u201cThe situation remains practically the same. The document that guarantees our stay here was valid until March 1, and that deadline has passed. No other documents were signed to delay it. So, what we know is that it is through the State Culture Secretariat that we can talk with the representatives of the company. They extended our stay until May 1, but this does not have a legal consequence because no documents were signed,\u201d stated Cl\u00e1udia Rose.<\/p>\n<p>With the end of the extension in March of this year and a verbal extension that ended on May 1, the Museu da Mar\u00e9 doesn&#8217;t have any other legal instrument\u00a0that allows their permanent or temporary stay at the building on Avenida Guilherme Maxwell, in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rfz7Sz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Morro do Timbau<\/a>.\u00a0Cl\u00e1udia Rose reports that they are awaiting a referral by the Ministry of Culture, but recalls that the current situation regarding the\u00a0federal government interferes in the progress of the process: \u201cWe are in partnership with the Rio de Janeiro State Secretariat of Culture and the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry of Culture is checking possibilities of how to resolve this situation so as to benefit the museum, so that the museum can remain. But\u00a0[following the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1T9zPPE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">impeachment<\/a>]\u00a0everything could change,\u201d said Cl\u00e1udia Rose.<\/p>\n<p>According to Luiz Ant\u00f4nio de Oliveira, one of the directors of the Museu da Mar\u00e9, the disputes and problems surrounding the\u00a0museum\u00a0become more and more complex because the company who owns the property is associated with the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the main party that opposed the continuity of the Workers Party\u00a0(PT) in the government. \u201cThis is already public\u2013any Google search will show that there is a connection between Eduardo Cunha and Grupo Libra, with Temer as well, through parliamentary amendments approved in Bras\u00edlia to favor Grupo Libra in contract bids and other things. It is also public that they support election campaigns here in Rio de Janeiro state and some on the national level as well. So, there is this political element that can also help or hinder us, depending on how things go\u201d\u2013reports Luiz Ant\u00f4nio before concluding\u2013\u201cAlso, the connection of Grupo Libra with PMDB was evident in that <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/293McS4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">video by [comedian] Greg\u00f3rio Duvivier<\/a> where he cites the relationship between Temer and Grupo Libra. So there is this political matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Luiz Ant\u00f4nio continues: \u201cThe attitude of the people at Libra is very uncompromising, not only with us, but with the government too. More recently, IBRAM (Brazilian Museums Institute) also joined in with more force, we think because of a request by Boaventura de Souza Santos, the Portuguese sociologist, who was impressed by the museum and talked with us a lot. He acted together with the Ministry of Culture to see which paths we could take to avoid eviction. Regarding the city government, we have no type of support, they did not take a side in the sense of making something possible in favor of the place, the museum, and our actions,\u201d states Luiz Antonio. Thus, with the current political configuration, the uncertainties regarding the future of the Museu da Mar\u00e9 increase. Cl\u00e1udia Rose says: \u201cThis is the situation. And the museum team has already decided, and decided a long time ago, that they will not go unless by force. And then to get rid of us there is the matter of the courts, the repossession order, the police will have to come to enact\u00a0the order, and that\u2019s it. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to happen if there is not a solution that favors the museum.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The museum team has already decided, and decided a long time ago, that they will not go unless by force.&#8221; &#8211; Cl\u00e1udia Rose<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Barbara Assis, 18, resident of Mar\u00e9, actor and member of the museum&#8217;s storytelling group, states that the museum cannot leave that place: \u201cThis museum has a history, impressions, there are people from all over the\u00a0world who have been here. There are no words to express what I feel regarding this removal. But what most describes how\u00a0I feel is the notion of inhumanity, lack of love for one another. If you look with sensibility, you can see that this place cannot be anywhere other than here,\u201d says B\u00e1rbara Assis, recalling the emotional relationship that involves space, memory, and residents.<\/p>\n<p>According to Leon Diniz, geography teacher at CEASM for over 15 years and one of the collaborators in the occupation of the museum space, the legal fragility of the museum is the result of a political game that has long been played by the dominant classes: \u201cWhen it is time for the likes of State Security Secretary\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1i3aO8S\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Beltrame<\/a> to appear, Mayor\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1nZkXpa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eduardo Paes<\/a> shows up, but when it\u2019s time to effectively do something that would benefit the residents, the powers that be don\u2019t care about it,\u201d summarizes Leon Diniz.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;When it\u2019s time to effectively do something that would benefit the residents, the powers that be don\u2019t care.&#8221; &#8211; Leon Diniz<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The configuration of public policies of Rio de Janeiro\u2013not only for executing major sporting events, but also to enable a market-based city in a process of <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1l6Oo5g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gentrification<\/a>\u2013impacts communities from the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1pfz23A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">South Zone<\/a> to the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1kZa7gI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">West Zone<\/a>, in addition to strategic territories such as the Mar\u00e9 group of favelas in the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1kZa3h9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">North Zone<\/a>.\u00a0This reveals\u00a0the fragility of community actions on various fronts\u2013<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1saUJ52\">culture<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1yHzFH2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">education<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1um7WLt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">human rights<\/a>, etc.\u2013in the face of corporate power legitimated through money, through capital, and which determines many of the government&#8217;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>Today, aside from the Museu da Mar\u00e9, another two community museums are <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/26cTtUP\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">threatened with eviction<\/a>: the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1NYdW3q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Museu de Favela\u00a0(MUF)<\/a> in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1lU6eQ0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pav\u00e3o-Pav\u00e3ozinho<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1rIlhJj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cantagalo<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/217uHku\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Museu do Horto<\/a> in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1KPjJvO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Horto<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thain\u00e3 Medeiros, a resident of Complexo do Alem\u00e3o, is one of the organizers of the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/28Jd7Ar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evictions\u00a0Museum<\/a>\u00a0in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1o6rEIS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>, an area devastated by the Rio de Janeiro city government\u00a0under the justification of building the Olympic Park. He affirms that memory is a strong instrument for constructing identities and resistance, and communities such as Aldeia de Imbu\u00ed in <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1ysPODX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Niter\u00f3i<\/a> and Horto in Rio use old documents to prove they are not invaders and have occupied these communities for a long time\u2013in other words, they use tools of memory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnalyzing the forces that are threatening these museums, I think there is very little\u00a0attempt (by authoritative groups) to\u00a0strengthen the autonomy of these museums within the realities of favelas,\u201d declares Thain\u00e3 Medeiros. \u201cI have little hope for the traditional museum form gaining resistance\u2013the stone and lime format gaining some resistance without institutional support. And it is very unlikely that this institutional strengthening will come from the government or something like that. I have little hope, especially during the current political moment we are in\u2013municipal, state, and federal. I have little hope that there will be a strengthening\u00a0of these institutions from other institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We can, to a certain point, compare the situation of physical instability of these community museums with the Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Neighborhood Association&#8230;\u00a0In this exhausting process of removals where residents are constantly creating strategies to fight back and reinvent and strengthen themselves, the Neighborhood Association ceased to be bricks and mortar\u00a0and became flesh and bone.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We can, to a certain point, compare the situation of physical instability of these community museums with the Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Neighborhood Association. After the house where the association functioned was <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1TGtfVS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">demolished by the City<\/a>, the association became itinerant, moving from the home of one resident to another as the removals went on. The houses that are still standing say \u201cNeighborhood Association.\u201d In this exhausting process of removals where residents are constantly creating strategies to fight back and reinvent and strengthen themselves, the Neighborhood Association ceased to be bricks and mortar\u00a0and became flesh and bone, represented in the physical figure of the very resident that resists eviction. This attitude reminds one of the Mexican saying: \u201cThey tried to bury us, but they did not know we were seeds.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13161743_1335417113142143_3528461343610115551_o-605x395.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-30002 size-full\" title=\"Storytelling at the Museu da Mar\u00e9\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13161743_1335417113142143_3528461343610115551_o-605x395.jpg\" alt=\"Storytelling at the Museu da Mar\u00e9\" width=\"605\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13161743_1335417113142143_3528461343610115551_o-605x395.jpg 605w, https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/13161743_1335417113142143_3528461343610115551_o-605x395-300x196.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 605px) 100vw, 605px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<h3>The fight continues! 10th anniversary of the Museu da Mar\u00e9<\/h3>\n<p>To the lower socio-economic classes, the <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1zOpGkf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">right to housing<\/a>\u00a0and the right to\u00a0memory are constantly denied, an addition to the list of human rights <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/12Sui8P\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">violations<\/a> underway in a city that each day becomes more similar to merchandise, a product on the shelf of those who have money and can pay for the silencing of the big media and the connivance of politicians. The ability of the poor to reinvent themselves is undeniable, but until what point will these communities have to reinvent themselves? Until what point will the poor have to create and recreate counter-hegemonic alternatives? The time of the future is a question mark, but a question mark that is answered by the daily practice of fighting against the capitalist system and for a society that is more dignified and fair to all.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;The ability of the poor to reinvent themselves is undeniable, but until what point will these communities have to reinvent themselves?&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The celebration of the Museu da Mar\u00e9&#8217;s 10th anniversary includes the production of a documentary and the publication of books, as well as the Memory Tea Party which was held on May\u00a019. \u201cThe 10 year anniversary fell\u00a0on a Sunday, which is Mother\u2019s Day, so we decided to have a program during National Museum Week from May 16-22,\u201d states Cl\u00e1udia Rose, coordinator of the Museu da Mar\u00e9. \u201cOn the 12th we had\u00a0the first workshop of collective construction of the documentary &#8217;10 Years of the Museu da Mar\u00e9&#8217; at 3pm, open for people to contribute [so we could] create the video together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Museu da Mar\u00e9 also published some books as part of the celebrations of the ten years of the museum. Luiz Ant\u00f4nio explained, \u201cThere was\u00a0one about the 12 times of Mar\u00e9, which is a book with images and some texts on the times of the museum. There was another on the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/1C93tAb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Guanabara Bay<\/a>\u00a0with articles written by Magalh\u00e3es Correa who wrote\u00a0for the <em>Correio da Manh\u00e3<\/em> newspaper and wrote the book <a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/2926325\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>O Sert\u00e3o Carioca<\/em><\/a> in 1936. The book will greatly benefit historians. By the end of the year, we intend to launch a revised edition of <em>Contos e Lendas da Mar\u00e9<\/em> (Tales and Legends of Mar\u00e9). We also plan on creating a book about the Mar\u00e9 neighborhood, but that is being looked into, because we will require resources to publish it.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas For the original article by Miriane Peregrino\u00a0in Portuguese published by\u00a0Jornal O Cidad\u00e3o\u00a0click here. Museu da Mar\u00e9 has existed and fought to remain for 10 years. Today the resistance is against the <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=29916\" title=\"Uplifting and Essential Community Museum of Mar\u00e9 Celebrates 10 Years Amidst Threats of Eviction\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":30004,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1294,1293,1288,1328,1268,1271,329,1330],"tags":[2108,1653,2109,258,1461,364,280,2032,674,11,188,25,1143,1160,716,2426,37,374,845,130,453,319,1474],"writer":[1532],"translator":[2071],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-29916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-communitymedia","8":"category-evictionswatch","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-by-community-contributors","11":"category-favelaculture","12":"category-favelaqualities","13":"category-solutions","14":"category-translation","15":"tag-ceasm","16":"tag-community-media","17":"tag-community-museum","18":"tag-community-solution","19":"tag-community-space","20":"tag-community-based-organization-cbo","21":"tag-complexo-da-mare","22":"tag-evictions-museum","23":"tag-memory","24":"tag-forced-evictions","25":"tag-history","26":"tag-human-rights","27":"tag-morro-do-timbau","28":"tag-museu-da-mare","29":"tag-museum","30":"tag-museum-week","31":"tag-north-zone","32":"tag-politics","33":"tag-rio-de-janeiro-youth-forum","34":"tag-social-movements","35":"tag-stigma","36":"tag-theatre","37":"tag-theatre-of-the-oppressed","38":"writer-miriane-peregrino","39":"translator-kathleen-brauer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81692,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29916\/revisions\/81692"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29916"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=29916"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=29916"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=29916"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=29916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}