“Vivo a minha vida, dou risada, fulereio quando eu guento eu sambo, to pelo meio, e é isso aí": modulações de culturas negras na Engomadeira

Abstract

This study aims to construct a cultural cartography disentangled from the technical/traditional elements of geography. To achieve this, it proposes crafting narratives about the Engomadeira neighborhood—located in the central core of Salvador, Bahia. Drawing from oral accounts by local residents, I establish connections between the stories told about Engomadeira and a theoretical/conceptual framework on territory and housing. Subsequently, the analysis focuses on Black cultural expressions in the neighborhood: capoeira, the celebrations of Terreiro Viva Deus Filho [Viva Deus Filho Candomblé Temple], and the LGBTQIA+ Parade, highlighting how these manifestations emerge from the narratives collected during fieldwork. In the final section, I propose expanding the threads of cultural cartography through breakdance performances by local b-boys. The sections are structured around interrogating how Black cultural cartographies of Engomadeira narrate and are narrated in/through the territory. Methodologically, the study employs semi-structured interviews, cultural cartography, and performance as tools, while theoretically engaging with works by Milton Santos, Gabriela Leandro Pereira, Jörn Seemann, Leda Maria Martins, Muniz Sodré, bell hooks, Fred Moten, among others.