Romances de terre et d’eau

“In the Nordeste region of Brazil, the peasants, who are actually occasional farm hands with no land, are entitled to no rights. In Sertão, they are persistently struggling against the slow economic stranglehold that forces them to migrate to the outskirts of the towns. For these peasants of Indian descent, the roça is the place they grow all the plants, vegetables and rice they need to feed the family from day to day. The roça could be an earthly paradise, if only this land belonged to them, if they could live off it, quite simply. It is a place where all their myths took, and still take root. They unceasingly work to maintain their culture through poetry, music, clay sculptures, masks and dance. Their words, conveyed with intensity, reveal a lucidity full of humour, which is the truest sign of their condition as human beings.” (Jean-Pierre Duret, Andrea Santana)