{"id":80315,"date":"2025-01-30T13:31:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T16:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80315"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:11:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:11:00","slug":"enterprising-afro-indigenous-women-in-rios-west-zone-answer-an-ancestral-call-and-found-the-as-josefinas-institute-inspired-by-ancestralized-grandma-dona-josefa-silva-nascimento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80315","title":{"rendered":"Inspired by Ancestralized Grandma Josefa Silva Nascimento, Enterprising Afro-Indigenous Women in Rio de Janeiro Found the As Josefinas Institute [PROFILE]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"As<\/a>
As Josefinas discussion circle. Photo: Raquel Ribeiro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

This article is part of RioOnWatch\u2018s series on\u00a0Memories of Favela Power<\/a>, which documents and celebrates the history of Rio de Janeiro\u2019s favelas through narratives and reports from residents\u2019 collective memory, in their daily struggle to lead fulfilling lives.<\/em><\/p>\n

Quintal das Josefinas (The Josefinas’ Backyard) is a space created to welcome women in Rio de Janeiro’s West Zone<\/a> neighborhood of Campo Grande<\/a>, facilitated by the As Josefinas Institute<\/a>. It can best be described through two key pillars: aquilombamento<\/em><\/a>\u2014the act of taking a counter-hegemonic stance in creating a safe, welcoming spaces for Black and marginalized groups\u2014and aldeamento<\/em>, which refers to the act of “villaging,” or bringing together indigenous peoples. These two concepts have been central to shaping this welcoming space for women in Campo Grande.<\/p>\n

\"Let\u00edcia<\/a>
Let\u00edcia Vilas-Boas, Angel Tamu, Alexia Sant\u2019ana, Preta Po\u00e9tica, Cida and Carla Nascimento. Photo: Raquel Ribeiro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A few of Aira Nascimento’s memories. Photo: Raquel Ribeiro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Resisting the obstacles that stood in her way, Aira Nascimento<\/a> founded the As Josefinas Institute, which she describes as an urban quilombo<\/em>, a village, and an expansive backyard that has been transforming the lives of the women who gather there. To honor the legacy of her maternal grandmother, Dona Josefa Silva Nascimento, Nascimento explains that she needed to embark on this journey to reconnect with her ancestrality and uncover her history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe [institute’s] name is a variation of Dona Josefa\u2019s. The idea first came to me during this journey of understanding my history as a Black woman and as someone of Potiguara indigenous descent. Phenotypically speaking, there’s no hiding this Black woman with indigenous features and Brazilian Northeastern origins, a resident of Rio de Janeiro, living here in the West Zone. I’ve lived here in the West Zone for decades\u2014over thirty years. I\u2019ve experienced life here on the periphery, here in the West Zone, for 43 years. And our history as Black women, as Black people, and as indigenous peoples has been systematically erased. We are only now beginning to learn the History that history itself has refused to tell us.<\/p>\n

I experienced structural racism firsthand, but I didn\u2019t know what to call it at the time. In 2016, when I became pregnant with my son and my grandmother passed away, that’s when I felt a deep return to my ancestrality.\u201d \u2014 Aira Nascimento<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Uma publica\u00e7\u00e3o compartilhada por As Josefinas (@asjosefinasinstituto)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n