Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí

Located in Santa Rita do Bracuí’s plantation, the quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí is made of around 130 families who have been maintaining Afro-Brazilian traditions across generations. The plantation belonged to Commander José de Souza Breves who, in his will disclosed in 1897, freed all his enslaved workers and donated his property to those who were living in Bracuí at the time. The descendants of the people who inherited Commander Breves’ property currently live in this quilombo. Despite this official donation, quilombolas (current residents of the quilombo) struggle to maintain the land that is rightfully theirs.

For more information on the quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí, see: Passados Presentes
For more information on the quilombolas’ struggle for land rights, see: RJ - Apesar de reconhecidos oficialmente, quilombolas de Santa Rita do Bracuí continuam a lutar contra empresa que tomou seu território - Mapa de Conflitos Envolvendo Injustiça Ambiental e Saúde no Brasil (fiocruz.br)

To learn more about the work done by the Quilombo Bracuí community on the shipwreck of Camargo, a cultural patrimony related to the memory of slavery, see: (English) AfrOrigins - From Shipwrecks to Black Communities. - YouTube and (Português) AfrOrigens - Dos naufrágios aos Quilombos. - YouTube