The Zé Pereira in Rio Novo: a century old cultural manifestation in the interior of Minas Gerais (1906-2006)

Abstract

This paper aims to present the history of the one the most traditional cultural manifestations of the interior of Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, the Zé Pereira  the pre-carnival block which remains in activity in the small city of Rio Novo-MG for over a hundred years and became the first “immaterial heritage” or “intangible” registered in the city.  In order to achieve this objective, I present a concrete and particular analyses about the transformations that occurred in this pre-carnivalesque manifestation,  portraying the discussions about his remote origins that referring the begin of the twentieth  century, his relations with the rionovenses “Carnival Clubs”, in a context of severe social and racial segregation between the rionovenses citizens, his emancipation during the 1950s as an autonomous carnival block and the continuity of this cultural manifestation which became the most traditional of Rio Novo, which celebrated his centennial in 2006, when restarts the debates about the his origins and history. Then, as the basis to carry out this study, I use journalistic references, documents relating to the pre-carnivalesque block, along with records and testimony of merrymakers that participated in parades in Rio Novo streets, following a rigorous methodology for the use the memories as historical sources.