aerial perspective

The Brazilian Gaucho identity has been historically distorted by a variety of political agents since the revolutions of the mid-19th century. Folkloric views were taken as reality in a fictionalized, exclusionary narrative, at times flirting flirts with an arrogant separatism decided to ignore the very roots of its people. By resignifying the feeling of belonging of the southern people to the gaucho identity and, consequently, the Brazilian identity, from a critical and historically fairer vision of the facts, this work proposes a center for the reinterpretation of the south, which serves not only as a symbol of an almost forgotten history, but as legitimization of the agents that actually made this land their home as well. Recent narratives about the past of the state of Rio Grande do Sul praise selected heroes and theatrical manners, which not only marginalize originary ethnic groups, but also increasingly distance this idealized fiction from history itself, while cases of racial, xenophobic and misogynistic crimes rise every year.The definition of Gaucho identity should not endure with an exclusive and non-representative social or racial group, especially when taking in consideration that the people whose identity was plagiarized no longer identify themselves as Gaucho nowadays. The main guideline of this project is the belief that the distancing of the southerner with their Brazilianness is mediated by the lack of understanding about its own identity as people. The state of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, has a rich history, sometimes brave and heroic, sometimes partial and unfair, but one which deserves to be told and reinterpreted by any and all individuals who feel a connection with this untamed land.

timeline of the Gaucho people

The definition of a national identity in a country as plural as Brazil - one of continental dimensions and a population formed by great ethnic and cultural variety - has never been a simple or objective task. Sometimes, with the intention of unifying this symbolism, one ends up falling into mannerisms and reinforcing stereotypes. The image of the tropical country is certainly the most famous, being reinforced by the influential mainstream media and exported abroad: carnival, sun, affection. In the modern era of Brazilian art, great national artistic exponents committed themselves to the search of this fleeting identity, whether in the "anthropophagism" movement of the 1920s or, later, in the "tropicalism" of the late 1960s. Without a doubt, however, no region of Brazil felt most unrepresented by this image than its furthest southern state, Rio Grande do Sul. The people from the south of Brazil have, over the years, developed a somewhat troubled relationship with the idea of being Brazilians, isolating themselves by strengthening their identification with the territory of Rio Grande do Sul and refuting their Brazilianness. Whether due to the isolated and unique colonialist settlements that occurred in the territory, which differed greatly from what happened in the rest of the country, or due to the fact that it had very close history and manners of Spanish-speaking neighbors - as in Uruguay and Argentina - or even due to the undeniable geographical differences and the consequences of its subtropical location: the cold. The fact is that no matter how distant the people of the south of this land feel in relation to the idea of belonging to Brazil, there is still a previous question to be answered, which perhaps is a key to understanding how the state of Rio Grande do Sul fits into the rich plurality within the meaning of being Brazilian. Who is in fact the Gaucho?

the Gaucho

In a brief historical overview, a set of episodes could be highlighted as the foundation of the gaucho identity. Even in a whirlwind of narrative doubts, one original point is legitimate: the land where most of Rio Grande do Sul is located today has always been indigenous territory. Two main originary peoples from South America South lived, essentially, in the international Pampas (Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil): the Charruas and the Minuanos. These groups were nomads, hunters and collectors, people fond of the geographic adversity and harsh climate of Rio Grande do Sul. With the 1494 signing of the famous Treaty of Tordesillas, the “new world” was divided between the two great empires of the time, with the Portuguese land extending to the so-called “corner of the South Atlantic”, in Laguna, in the state of Santa Catarina. South of this site, located in Spanish territory, the Repulsion Coast began, the largest straight coast in the world, which had a very important role in later stages of the colonization of this territory, since it was impossible at the time to moor vessels on the coast of Rio Grande do Sul. Therefore, the troops traveled from the north by land, through the “solitude of sand, the featureless and treacherous line of the coast”, as stated by Vera Lucia Maciel Barroso. Around 1626, Jesuit missions were established in the western part of the state, as well as in Argentina and Paraguay, where indigenous Guaranis and Spanish Jesuits prospered for many years in a not so intentional cultural exchange until the arrival of the "bandeirantes", coming from São Paulo, which precipitated the Guaranitic Wars. In 1680, at the behest of Portugal, Manuel Lobo founded the city of Colonia del Sacramento, on the left bank of the River Plate, a few nautical miles across from Buenos Aires; the city was soon invaded and destroyed by the Spanish army. In 1737, the first major settlement of the territory was established, the city of Rio Grande, located near the middle of the route connecting Laguna and Colonia del Sacramento. In 1777 the First Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed. It dictated the demarcation of borders in the territory of Rio Grande do Sul, leaving the area of the Jesuit missions to Portugal, and ending the dispute over the cisplatine area of Colonia del Sacramento, which became a Spanish territory. The southeastern area of the state, close to the Mirim and Mangueira lagoons, Minuano territory, were considered Neutral Fields. Neither Portugal nor Spain should have military presence placed at this site. To the Gaucho people, born from this fusion of Charruas, Minuanos, Guaranis, Jesuits and Iberian settlers which, inhabited the Pampas, none of these cartographic borders were of any interest. Through hundreds of years they had lived in this “no man's land”, where the wealth scarcity and the decentralization of power guided their paths; now, this territory was being divided between Uruguay and Brazil. According to the historian Frederick Jackson Turner, the very concept of a border is not the line that separates sovereign states, but the free territory to be occupied. Therefore, regardless of which kingdom the Rio Grande do Sul area belonged to, that land had already become a nation of Gauchos. With the end of the Guaranitic Wars and subsequent ruin of the Jesuit missions, the idealized image of the Gaucho takes on a clearer contour. The Charruas and Minuanos created an inseparable connection with the Criollo Horse, and using the Chiripá as clothing and the Boleadeira as a weapon, mounted upon them to hunt, the once raised, and now wild, cattle that grazed freely across the Pampa. The yerba mate, part of Guarani culture and widely cultivated in Jesuit herbal gardens, spread quickly across the land. The history of the Gaucho people took a major turn with the land concessions during the Portuguese settlement of Rio Grande do Sul. From that moment on, large areas of the territory, previously no man's (or everyone's) land, became owned and fenced. Cattle were raised again, now by the new ranchers and landlords. The gauchos however, who had never had contact with these capitalist ideas of private property, were shortly seen as outlaws - looting ranches, robbing livestock and living on the margins of this new frontier. The Gauchos who managed to insert themselves into civilization became peões (pawns - those who walk on foot) at farms, working directly with, and getting very close to, another great agent of this history, the black men brought as slaves from the Moise region of Africa. The Gaucho, who had never owned anything, and now lacked his horse and the freedom that defined him, was tied to the work of raising cattle and producing beef jerky, becoming much closer to the black slave than to the white cattle-raising elite. They began, incorporating African allies and culture, such as haystacks, hemp and roasting ribs, which were considered at the time a leftover made over a ground fire, in the Charrua tradition. With the outbreak of the Farroupilha revolution on the fateful September 20th, 1835, the ranchers sent pawns and slaves (all gauchos) to war, to fight side by side against the Brazilian Empire. The Rio Grande do Sul elites, dissatisfied with the Brazilian government, even declared the separation of the state, recognizing itself as the Riograndense Republic, whose greatest figure was the slave-owner Bento Gonçalves da Silva. The war lasted approximately 10 years, ending with negotiations between political and social elites on both sides. One of the most vile chapters in these people's history happened at the conflict's end, according to historian Leonardo dos Reis Gandia: the massacre of Porongos, where the Empire, represented by Duque de Caxias, and the Farrapos, fronted by Davi Canabarro, allegedly articulated a betrayal against the enslaved fighters of the Black Lancers, who despite fighting bravely with the promise of freedom, were sentenced to execution and capture.

the intention

In 1893, shortly after the abolition of slavery in Brazil (1888), the largest civil war in the country's history broke out, taking place in the gaucho land: The Federalist Revolution or War of the Beheading, another bloody chapter in the history of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. After the end of the conflict and inspired by the events of that time, great epic works dealing with the memory of the gaucho were written, such as Martin Fierro, by José Hernandez (1872), Dom Segundo Sombra, by Ricardo Guiraldes (1926) and the Gaucho a pé trilogy, by Cyro Martins (1954).The battles fought in Rio Grande do Sul territory undoubtedly influenced the Gaucho imagery proposed by the folklorists Côrtes and Lessa in the 20th century. Regardless of being on the front line in these conflicts, the gaucho, son of an indigenous womb with outsiders, had little influence on decisions, intentions or developments of these stories, perhaps, due to these not belonging to their origin, manners nor habits, which had been developed for centuries by several cultures. It is important, however, to analyze these processes as one, because, just like in the course of the drawings of the border lines, the gaucho was not in charge, but had great influence and was influenced in an essential way. Furthermore, according to Elmar Bones, in the book Lanceiros Negros (2006), it is a fundamental period for the understanding of black protagonism in the history of the southern borders. As a result of the revolutions, the word Gaucho had a much more elitist, separatist and militarist meaning, not in keeping with the original gaucho identity who until then rode on broad horizons without imperialist political leadership. The Gaucho, therefore, arises from this fusion of specific brazilian originary groups, from the Pampas, along with the Iberian influence, for many years more Spanish than Portuguese, and their entaglement with enslaved black people. When later immigration waves from other European nations occurred, at the end of the 18th century, the gaucho identity was already established, and they had little influence on this imagery. The origin story of the Gaucho people and the constitution of their identity occurred in an area that, at the time, lacked defined borders. Therefore, many mannerisms, and characteristics of this people are shared with the Uruguayan and Argentinian gauchos. As a matter of fact, the non-recognition of borders could be considered intrinsic to the gaucho identity, since the territory of the Pampa, like its people, transcends national boundaries.

the implantation

In the east zone of the state capital, Porto Alegre, close to the border that exists between the Agronomia and Lomba do Pinheiro neighborhoods,a vast scar rests on the green surface at the top of the Pelado hill: an abandoned quarry flanked by a large area of natural preservation relatively close to the urban fabric, far from the formal city and not yet incorporated into the informal one, hidden by nature and by the hills themselves. It is precisely on this sizable tract of land that the South Reinterpretation Center project is proposed, in a plot located on the edge of the city, among a forest still preserved within the urban territory, and an area overlooking the vast horizon without visible borders. The broad connection, addressed in this work, between the gaucho and the land, with the vast loneliness of the Pampa, defines the intention behind the implementation of a loose cultural facility in a large territory, without clear demarcation of urban limits or setbacks, in a simple, free, nomadic gesture. Beyond the poetics of giving new meaning to an area of mineral extraction, an open scar in the territory, with the installation of a space that deliberately reinterprets a poorly told history, a fissure in the Gaucho past, the site is located in a very privileged location, in an area of the city that lacks any privilege.

main sections

The implementation of the architecture was designed in order to take advantage of the vast area and the terrain's topography. Thusly, a path was drawn along a large axis which connects the two furthest points at the lowest level possible, located at the bottom of the crater. At the starting point lies a visitor center, and at the ending point, a lookout, both key to the cultural itinerary. Permeating this path, there are installations belonging to the South Reinterpretation Center, located on the old quarry slopes and connected by open-air wooden walkways. The museum itself, divided into three cultural installations - historical, ethnographic and archaeological - instigates the viewer to reconsider the ways this story was told. At the end of this journey, the public arrives at the main facility, an isolated monolithic building. This equipment provides most of the cultural attractions, such as an auditorium, a coffee shop and a restaurant, a library, exhibition rooms and the administration offices. The building's elevation works as a vertical connection to the higher levels of the crater, overcoming the unevenness of the stone walls. Through the roof, there is a connection to the route's last installation, the lookout. The tectonic aspect of the main equipment dematerializes itself in the lookout, which displays its entire structure, without vertical closures. Arriving at the highest level, the building directs the view to both sides, front and back. From this point one can see the entire project from another perspective: an open view, completely different from what can be seen upon arriving at the valley created by this violent act upon the territory, tunneled by huge stone walls. Now, at the culmination of this story, the final destination, a reinterpretation is proposed. The view to the south signifies the understanding of the story that is intended to be retold, the main objective of this entire journey. To the north, however, there is only the open horizon, the land and paths that incite exploration. From this point on, the public is invited to experience the open area of the hill's natural slope through walking paths and trails supported by beacons, which provide resting areas.

the entrance - visitor center

Upon the arrival, the visitor center establishes the constructive pattern of most buildings. An exposed wooden structure supports both the roof and the light wood frame walls. Concrete foundations elevate the wooden elements at a safe height, keeping a respectful distance from the wounded soil. The internal area is sheltered by a ribbed wooden slab, composed of joists and panels, with the appropriate insulations. A high metal roof shades the entire installation, providing thermal comfort. The visitor centers, besides containing the access area, guide the visitors through the project and routes. Additionally, in a separate, there is an area designated for the possibility of a restaurant and gift shop. These two separate cells are connected by a large open area which indicates the direction to be followed along the axis.

the historic installation

The historical installation aims to reconsider the origin of the Gaucho identity, through photos, documents, texts, videos, reports and any other narrative devices that contribute to this end. At the end of the exhibition, there is the only outwards facing window of the structure, pointing directly to the next installation to be visited. The exhibition shall be composed of a variety of works related to the theme, donated or acquired from specific local public or private foundations, such as the Centro Cultural Érico Veríssimo, CCMQ, Memorial of Rio Grande do Sul and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.

the ethnographic equipment

The ethnographic installation works in a similar way, respecting the very degraded terrain. The content to be exposed is of an ethnic nature, reinforcing the different groups who, over the years, shaped the Gaucho identity, praising the fair contribution of all who participated in this history. Waist height exhibition stand will display historical objects, as well as myths, traditional clothing, characteristics and cultural manners of each group, exemplifying how these elements were inserted into a common identity. The ethnographic collection will assimilate part of what today belongs to the MARS (Anthropological Museum of Rio Grande do Sul).

the archeological installation

Finally, the archaeological installation is located on the eastern slope of the crater, on a large, flat, elevated area. This building has larger dimensions in order to accommodate the variety of artifacts pertaining to the Gaucho culture, found in several excavations carried out mainly by MARSUL (Archaeological Museum of Rio Grande do Sul)

the center plaza

These facilities are intentionally isolated, to create time for introspection between visits. The pathways along the crater hold similar importance to the exhibitions themselves, providing time for the calm reflection about their subject matters, while the public interacts with elements of nature, specially the wind and the cold. The walkways are proposed to be built entirely out of wood, as is much of the project in itself, since it is a cheap and local material. Their structure is composed of lattice beams which function as guardrails and support the transversal structures. Inside, there is the installation of the floor and vertical closure, forming a rigid and one-piece hull, reminiscent of sturdy structures, contrasting with the great distances between anchor points. The main axis is supported by duplicate pillars, which form trestles, with expressive transverse braces inspired by old mining structures and railway bridges. Metal rods lock the structure in the longitudinal axis, providing greater stability. A translucent material works as covering for the entire route, providing comfort for the public who only wants to reach the anchor equipment in weather that is not conducive to walking in open areas.

the main equipment

The main equipment contains the majority of the closed areas, and is accessed from the axis level, elevated 4 meters from the ground. At this level there is the reception, as well as toilets and the vertical circulation tower, which accompanies the north facade of the building through all floors. On the lower level is the auditorium, which follows the topography, and is connected to the main building by a foyer located at the bottom of the access level, illuminated by a large opening that separates the materialities of the two large volumes. The upper floors of the main equipment include the administration and collection on level 2, the library and study rooms on levels 3 and 4, workshop rooms on levels 5 and 6 and exhibition halls on levels 7 and 8, as well as a technical coverage on floor 9, where the air conditioning systems, water tanks and solar panels are located. The building is shaped by wooden solar protections on the east and west facades, and blind walls to the north and south that contain the bracing rods for the structure and the shafts. Leaving the vertical circulation tower, there is a door that connects to ramps, guiding the public to the lookout.

the lookout

To reach the lookout level, the visitor is presented with the options of stairs or elevators. The lookout follows the same structural pattern of cranes and bridges, being mostly composed of exposed wooden pillars and beams held together by cables. On the top, there is an open floor plan, as well as a wind protected area, formed by glass frames. Heading towards nature, wooden paths guide the public throughout the park, preserving the vegetation.

the trails - the manifestation of different paths

Beacons are positioned at equal distances throughout the path, operating as shelters for the wanderers, working as a port, and are equipped with rest areas, bathrooms and fireplaces.