Dissertation Defense by ANTONIO GENIVAN NUNES BRAZ
A MASTER'S DEFENSE committee has been registered by the program.
STUDENT: ANTONIO GENIVAN NUNES BRAZ
DATE: August 29, 2025
TIME: 9:30 AM
LOCATION: PPGCITE Meeting Room
TITLE: CARNIVAL, CULTURE, AND THE CITY: A Study on the Carnival Block "As Virgienses" of Vigia de Nazaré, Pará
KEYWORDS: Amazon; carnival; city; culture; identity; Vigia de Nazaré, Pará.
PAGES: 175
MAJOR AREA: Human Sciences
AREA: Education
ABSTRACT: This study aims to understand the relevance of the Carnival block "As Virgienses" in the context of Pará's Carnival, as an urban sociocultural practice and a structuring element of the cultural identity of Vigia de Nazaré, facing modernity. Carnival, as one of the most striking expressions of popular culture in Vigia de Nazaré and the state of Pará, reflects historical processes and social dynamics that transcend its festive dimension. In 2025, upon its 40th anniversary, As Virgienses illustrates a trajectory marked by transformations that engage with concepts of identity, culture, and the city, among others, in the postmodern era. Studying this Carnival group allows us to understand the city, as it engages with the postmodern dimension, as an epicenter of the municipality's economic life, a vector of transformation, a lifestyle, a spectacle city, a space for cultural production and reproduction, inclusion, and a social phenomenon of development in modern society. The group is not only a space for celebration, but also a phenomenon that integrates the municipality's economic life, connecting lifestyles and consolidating Vigia as a stage for cultural production and reproduction, social inclusion, and development. Although As Virgienses preserves deep-rooted traditions, its constant transformation demonstrates its adaptation to contemporary demands. Bringing together revelers from Vigia and neighboring municipalities, the bloco is characterized by cultural diversity, fostering interaction between the local and the global. This event not only reinforces the city's collective identity but also boosts the local economy through creative processes and social representation. Methodologically, the study follows a qualitative and ethnographic approach, with us acting as participant observers. Data collection included semi-structured interviews with eight revelers from the bloco, whose responses were transcribed using Transcribe Me software and analyzed using Bardin's (2016) content analysis. Additionally, field diaries and photographs were used to enrich the analysis. The theoretical basis is based on classic, international, national and regional authors, including Hall (2005), Harvey (2016), Geertz (2008), Canclini (2008), Yúdice (2006), Cruz (2011, 2014, 2018, 2021.a, 2021.b, 2023, 2024), Silva (2015; 2019), Da Matta (1978, 1997), Giddens (2002), Wirth (1967), Simmel (1967), Rémy and Voyé (1992), Sánchez (2001), Sarraf-Pacheco et al (2015), among others. These references led us to an analysis of the articulation between identity, culture, and the city in postmodernity, contributing to an understanding of the bloco's role as a socioeconomic, cultural, and identity-building phenomenon in the Amazonian riverside town of Vigia de Nazaré, Pará. This study concludes that the bloco As Virgienses represents a significant cultural identity in Vigia de Nazaré in postmodernity. Conceived as a fragmented, plural identity subject to constant reconstruction, it highlights the compression of space and time amidst the tension between the global and the local. As a space of freedom and constructed and reconstructed performative expression, the Vigia de Nazaré carnival, analyzed from a contemporary perspective, is recognized for its interpretative, hybrid, and culturally economic dimensions.
BOARD MEMBERS:
External to the Institution - KADYDJA KARLA NASCIMENTO CHAGAS
President - FERNANDO MANUEL ROCHA DA CRUZ
Intern - VIVIAN DA SILVA LOBATO
