Digital Edition by Anonymous MIT student
Artwork by Anonymous MIT student
Table of contents
- Translator’s Statement
- Interpretive Essay
- A CRUZADA
- Creative Response – No Promises (Sem Promessas)
- Creative Response – Creator’s Statement
- Other texts
- Other Sources Used
- License
Translator’s Statement
There’s just something magical about reading something in a different language. Throughout my studies, I’ve encountered many stories from my home in Latin America, ranging from Guatemala to Colombia and everything in between. But when I started learning Portuguese, I built a bond with someplace new: Brazil. I self-studied Portuguese in eleventh grade, hoping that one day, I could transport myself to the world of Portuguese literature.
My passion for Portuguese and my desire to learn more about Brazilian society and culture is partly why I chose Brazilian literature for my digital edition. In this edition, I highlight a few texts from a Brazilian periodical: A Cruzada. There are many unique voices in Brazil, and highlighting these texts creates a snapshot of Brazilian society that we can analyze from a modern-day lens.
I choose to use the title of the periodical as the title for my edition because of its English translation: The Crusade. Normally, ‘The Crusades’ refer to the wars fought in the Middle Ages1. But a crusade can mean any campaign to evoke change and hope for a better future. In this case, the “Crusade” refers to the change Brazil experienced in the 1880s: the transition from an empire to a republic. This was a massive, but necessary change, for Brazilians to have a better future.
This issue contains several small texts, each with a specific topic. Some directly discuss issues in Brazilian society (e.g., the Portuguese language, Brazilian nationalism, etc.), while others add to the setting of 1880s Brazil. For this edition, I chose to include three stories that discussed said issues: Nós (Us), Estrangeirismos (Foreignisms), and Typos (Types)2. I included a few other stories at the end of this edition to encourage further exploration of 1880s Brazilian society. These texts are not part of the main story, so feel free to skip these texts if you choose. On another note, at the beginning of the main text is a section called A’s Leitores, which translates to: “To the Readers.” This part provided information about the paper, authors, and historical context. I placed this part of the story at the beginning rather than in the middle where it was originally located.
Finally, I want to discuss the italicized words that appear in Estrangeirismos. Why are they italicized? As the story discusses, these phrases are foreignisms, i.e., words from one language incorporated into another. The primary language in Brazil is Portuguese, so most likely, during the 1880s, these words were new to Portuguese, meaning there are no definitive Portuguese words for these phrases. A good example is magasin. In modern Brazilian Portuguese, magasin now refers to revista (magazine), but the word magasin comes from the English word ‘magazine’. We can infer from the story that English was probably a less familiar language in Brazil, so the authors chose to italicize it to tell the readers this is a foreign word.
I decided to keep these words untranslated in the main text3 because they maintain the voice of 1880s Portuguese. It adds authenticity to the story because these words tell the reader we are getting this story straight from that period. In addition, it reminds me of certain words in Spanglish. The same concept applies: some English words don’t have an official Spanish term yet, or they might be a mix of both Spanish and English. Using Spanglish words like Wi-Fi or carro (Wi-Fi and car, respectively) also gives us a unique voice in writing and literature.
To the best of my abilities, this story has been translated from Portuguese to English. I would appreciate it if someone reviewed the translation and provided feedback. If you would like to read the original version, you can follow these links:
https://bndigital.bn.gov.br/acervodigital (For general information about the periodical)
https://memoria.bn.gov.br/pdf/822957/per822957_1889_00001.pdf (The actual issue)
Interpretive Essay
In the 1880s, Brazil is a changing country. From abolishing slavery to becoming a republic, Brazilians were experiencing one of the most crucial periods in the country’s history. During this time, many short stories published in periodicals painted portraits of 1880s Brazil, enabling us to learn more about whom these people were and how the empire shaped their lives. Although some of these stories may not have a central plot and may not even be true, they portray a medley of voices that represent how Brazilians feel during this unique part of Brazilian history,
Each story represents a different perspective of 1880s Brazil. Let’s review each of them and how they relate to the topic of a crusade. The first two sections, Nos (Us) and Estrangeirismos (Types), call for unity, nationalism, and patriotism. In Nos, the authors urge the youth to not lose strength nor passion, as fighting for true Brazilian glory will bring about necessary changes for the better of the country. In Estrangeirismos, Evangelista Pereira scorns the use of foreign phrases and calls for Brazilians to not use these words to show their love and support for their country. Both of these stories call for a common goal of uniting the people for a common goal, creating a crusade aiming to develop a national identity. This crusade would succeed, even during the days of the empire, as Brazil displayed tremendous growth and national unity during much of the 1800s4. By writing these stories, the authors promoted this crusade to amplify calls for unity and patriotism through smaller acts, (e.g., not using foreign words), to show the world that Brazil can stand as an independent nation with a unique identity.
On the other hand, the last section, Typos, explores the topics of crusades through living conditions. This story describes the first-hand experiences of a young, troubled boy growing up in the Empire. He doesn’t have a proper education, is very mischievous, and isn’t the best person to their family. At first, the reader may not feel sympathy or empathy for the child, since he is spoiled and ill-mannered, but upon closer look, one can infer that these conditions were brought upon the empire. Children were treated brutally during the 1880s5, and working at textile factories for hours isn’t good for a child’s physical and mental health6, so most likely, the more this child worked at the factory, the more aggressive and mischievous he became. In addition, since he was constantly exposed to dangerous working conditions, he would die young, but as a crooked soul. This analysis reveals the need to reform living conditions for children, and this forms the second type of crusade discussed in these stories. This crusade unfortunately continues today, as Brazil still has excessive child labor7, even though it’s been illegal since 19888. By writing this story, the author urges Brazilians to call for change, as children shouldn’t have to go through these experiences and hardships at such a young age.
But how real are these stories? Did they ever happen? Or could the writers have fabricated a few details to convince the reader this was real? It’s a good habit to look past the surface and see if one can verify the accounts.
On the one hand, we know this story was written during political upheaval and turmoil. During crises, the media tends to skew information and exaggerate the severity of certain events to attract a greater audience. One article from the Harvard Business Review9 determined that in some places like the US, the media has become engrossed in exaggerating headlines instead of providing unbiased and accurate news. In 1889, the military would eventually overthrow the monarchy10. This would undoubtedly create chaos and confusion for the media to capitalize on.
However, the world was incredibly different in the 19th century. While some people were satisfied during this time, some still wanted to see change. Brazil was advancing during this period in everything from economy to certain living conditions11, but these portraits give us a taste of what else Brazilians wanted to see: hope, prosperity, democracy, and change. So, these stories can be taken to be true because they align with what some Brazilians yearned for at the time. I find these stories accurate because portraits like these help us understand why someone would advocate for their causes in the first place.
With this in mind, can we even call these portraits a story? When people hear the word ‘story’; they think of a tale with a central plot, a standard beginning, middle, and end, and a lesson to be learned. So when a “story” doesn’t have one of these things, it may not be considered a story. To some extent, this is true. For example, Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera’s “After the Races” doesn’t have a central plot. Instead, it describes the aftermath of a horse-racing event from the perspectives of two women in 19th-century Mexico.
On the contrary, these scenes can be considered a story because they all contribute to the common goal. In this case, this story pushes for change in Brazilian society. Before this periodical was released, the government abolished slavery in 188812. Brazil would later reform their country based on what people wanted, but they could only know what to change through stories and articles like these. So while there may not be a definitive plot, these portraits of life come together to form a new kind of story: a medley of voices and perspectives that aim to achieve a common goal of change and prosperity for the years to come.
To sum up, this story is a unique kind of story. It combines various first-hand accounts to produce a special lens on Brazilian society in the 1880s. Whether people believe the actual accounts is up to interpretation, but one part that certainly shows itself is the desire for a better Brazil in the future. And this is another reason why I chose to make this story available now. It’s portraits like these that help spread these ideas and goals to more people, creating unity though identity and nationalism, and bringing together thousands to work towards a better tomorrow.
A CRUZADA
Writers: Santos Junior, Pinho Paraizo and Evangelista Pereira
Year 1 | Bahia–June 6, 1889 | Number 1
To the readers
It’s with great pleasure we saw you sweetly and respectfully place the interesting Crusade in your small hands.
Here it is, do not despise it, it is the youth of warmth, which, in addition to its strong, virile, and vehement language for the great matters of interest to the country, has sweet, light, and delicate phrases for you, to whom it bends nobly to render a fervent and holy cult of love.
It is, therefore, with the Crusade in hand that we address you, it is the youth that we represent, always ready to give you a word of adoration, always waiting for a sweet, cheerful, and Divine laugh to heal us for a moment from the sharpness of the blade.
Without you, life would be chaos, a horrible despair.
And what would become of us if you did not exist in the world?
Oh! We would have as many years of life as many years of isolation in an abyss of nameless pain.
Life would be a true exile, living would be a constant suffering, without a light initiative, without a moment of delight.
Only you know how to share sweets that heal the pains we endure here in this hospital called the world. This is why, expecting a sincere and ardent wish of encouragement from you, we repeat, we come to place this humble periodical in your hands.
Us
While the respectable elders, gray-haired heroes already exhausted from the struggle for their homeland, see that time, that tireless traveler on an endless road, points out to them the suns of sunset, the youth should not remain idle in the cradle of indifference. This is why, as small as we are, we dare to leave the orbit of our negative value and enter the fight that empowers the press, and the fight that honors journalism.
The Homeland has a hope, and this hope is us, the children of the new age who, admiring the shining footprints of our ancestors, seek to honor them, glorifying the Homeland.
We will go forward.
Youth must not lack passion or strength; it is, therefore, necessary that we pick flowers that adorn the laureate forehead of the Fatherland, even if for this we have to cross oceans and abysses of thorns and tough thistles.
We put the interests of the Country before any particular conveniences.
And what does it matter if destiny tells us, There is that immense mountain strewn with estrepes13, that ocean red with embers and those abysms surrounded by pain, will you have the courage to cross them?
We crossed. Ahead we will find blessings, we will clap together, our conscience tells us.
Now perhaps they will tell us: “So much for the country and nothing for the people?!!”
No, gentlemen the feather that defends the Fatherland is a weapon that protects the people.
What will inspire us more care than the greatness of the people?
And what is the greatness of the people if not the elevation of the country?
So let it be said once for all that we are born of the people, and we will live for the people, for whom we fight.
Teaching the people is our glory; defending the weak and the oppressed, this is our mission; accusing criminals and distinguishing merit, this is our duty.
Foreignisms
Let us begin now to fulfill our sacred mission.
If we came to fight, we should not give the care of the Patria14 to the presentation etiquettes.
Sure of this, we will cry out against the incessant atrophy of our language, which is the sole cause of dementia and the lack of patriotism of Brazilians.
It is an addiction that frightfully overwhelms us, the fatal tendency towards everything that is foreign. Even in language, the rampant foreignisms are increasingly taking on more fearsome proportions.
A language as rich as ours, which contains far more than 30 thousand terms, not including proper names in this number, which are not in small quantities, needing purely foreign words is incredible; However, the facts of each day are there to protest against any doubt.
They are asserting that we will constantly ask for terms from the French, the English, the Spanish, the ltalians, etc.
Just the other day, reading one of our newspapers, we found the following: By the accredited fashion magasin15 of Viuva Pontes, we were pampered with a beautiful plastron taken from the admirable collection that this fashion establishment, etc.
Did the entire class of readers understand the stuffed portuguez16 of the illustrated «Jornal17» that wrote that news?
Magasin! Many would find it difficult to pronounce such a word, let alone understand it.
- What’s wrong with this? Understand who knows. What I want, the erudite writer will say, is for it to be known that I know French.
The scribbler of those lines certainly showed great intellect, however, readers, many of you, because you are not so intellectual, would have to wonder what magasin meant.
Magasin, if we are not mistaken, means loja18, armazem19, etc.; Now, as a loja de modas20 is a very ugly way of saying it (so they judge), it is necessary to invent a loja de modas.
Is this beauty of rhetoric or perfection of language?
Anything. This denotes the decadence of a sloppy and unpatriotic people.
It’s the misery of Brazilians.
The prognosis that can be drawn from this present corruption is sad.
You start by abhorring your own language, you end up abandoning your own country.
Word by word, foreignism is introduced here; and it will not be long before, having changed our language and our customs, we hand over our fields and our cities to foreigners.
Then we will be a people without language, without homeland and without freedom.
However, before we begin to feel the depths of such a terrible catastrophe, Brazilians, let us begin to react.
Let us ask why should we look for foreign words if we do not lack national ones?
Why should we say magasin in the loja, plastron in place of the term we should give, taken from our own language?
And what does plastron mean?
Open any French dictionary, and you will find: PLASTRON, peito d’armas21, etc. We therefore believe that the plastron used by the news reporter is nothing more than cartão ou livro de amostras22.
In this case, we don’t know what name to give to so much nonsense from these corrupters of our language.
We will continue; because we believe that one of the most noble feelings of the citizen is the love of the Fatherland, and we cannot aim without vehement protest at this fatal invasion, exact proof of the decadence and lack of patriotism of a people.
Evangelista Pereira.
Types
- The Yoiô23
Who doesn’t know this eternal b—24 called yoiô?
Almost every house has its yoiô; He is the oldest, silliest, most s—, which doesn’t stop him from being the o ai Jesus25 of the house.
At the age of 7 still wets the bed, mom doesn’t like, but what can I do?
At the age of 10, he smokes the ends of father’s cigars, plays a lot with Dedé, who is his neighbor, which my mother doesn’t mind. The most spiritless sayings of this huge donkey finds them funny and tells them with great good will to his little cousin Nanoca, to my cousin Justininha, to all his relatives, to his father confessor and finally to Mr. X, who is a friend of her husband and writes sonnets to her braids, in her eyes and her beauty at last, without the father, who is her husband, feeling the slightest inconvenience because of this; All these people also like the donkey’s nonsense, and Mom most of all. But yoiô is not always ten years old, it grows in size and with age.
He is 14 years old. It’s a plague. He likes to joke with his nannies, with his neighbors, he dates Captain F’s daughter, he studies preparatory courses, he speaks French at home (that’s how to say it), he says that a knife is “couteau”, a napkin serviette, house “maison”, etc. For what?
At 16 years old he is an academic, plays pool perfectly, [but] knows little about what he studies.
At twenty he graduated, he is the “eternal priest” of the people at home, he uses Clark, he kills regularly, as he is a doctor…
At 40 he dies, and nothing much is lost; one simply loses an eldest son, or rather a yoiô. Bonifacio.
Creative Response – No Promises (Sem Promessas)
For the purpose of this story, I will not reveal anything about me, and it would be handy if the reader were to avoid wondering anything about me.
If you, the reader, decided to skim through the whole thing, then I will dismiss you from this tale. On the other hand, if you read and decide it is not for you, I will dismiss you also.
Thus, that leaves but one group of people for this. If you, the reader, are young and of insatiable curiosity, then imagine your home country turned inside out. This Brazil is but anything you know: rustic but growing, small but mighty, united but divided. Imagine, if you will, that the military is conspiring to stop the monarchy once and for all. And for the first time ever, the king, Pedro II, is fearing for his life and power.
Now, imagine a young, scrappy teenager who has just finished his shift at the factory. Do you think he’s happy working in dangerous factory conditions with no pay? Undoubtedly not. Even though you are young, you are still old enough to know how money can impact this kid. So do you think this kid will want to try to wiggle his way out of it? You betcha. But not in the way most kids his age do26. Rather than not show up to work, he decides something radical.
“I do not want this anymore. I will talk directly with Pedro II, and order him to free all the children from the factories!”
So, in a stunning turn of events, he begins a perilous journey from his factory in São Paulo to the capital of Rio de Janeiro27.
Midway between the two cities, this young boy was already plum-tuckered out. And if you think I’m saying this for comedic effects, I will dismiss you from the story. You try to climb up all those mountains uphill both ways!28 But, he was set on arriving at the capital as he had hoped. At the edge of the suburbs, a poor girl rose to him, begging for money.
“I don’t have any.” The young boy replied.
“Then reveal your destination. Your goal. Your traumas.” she replied in a raspy voice.
“The king. I’m going to order him to stop putting children in the factories!”
“You will never succeed. Besides, I’ve heard that the military wants to take him down.” she replied in the same voice. At this point, the boy was completely terrified of the girl. It felt like a… how do you put it? An invasion of privacy. So he trekked on.
When he finally arrived at the King’s home, he was completely out of breath. No more hills, please! He thought to himself. Upon gazing at the majestic palace, he took a second to remind himself why he was here. Most people say they’re happy here, but I don’t believe so. If that’s the case, then why am I still here working in these dumb factories? Immediately after, he let a small scream and barged into the palace, hoping to confront the king head-on. Upon his arrival, the guards quickly took notice.
“What’s that kid doing here?!”
“I don’t know. GET HIM!”
With that, the guards chased the boy down, hallway after hallway. They came close to nabbing him a few times, but the boy managed to slip away every time. Eventually, the boy arrived outside the fabled central palace of the king. No guards were behind him. He was ready. With that, he opened the door, revealing someone who he thought to be Pedro II.
It wasn’t him.
Instead, it was a man dressed in all black, with the only hint of color coming from an official seal on his right sleeve. But wait. Upon further inspection, what was that seal? It was nothing like the true Brazilian coat of arms. This one had a wreath with a yellow, red, and green star in front. Beneath the star was something that appeared to be a sword with two blue ribbons In the center of this ridiculous crest, there were two blue circles with yellow strokes, one inside the other and bearing 5 white stars.
The boy slowly began backing away from the man. Who was this guy? And why was he trying to disgrace his patría? Sure, he hated working in the factories, but he still believed in the country he calls home.
“Little boy. Don’t act like you didn’t see me. Come.” the man ordered. The boy began trembling in fear, still backing away from this man. He then bumped into something hard, and when he looked behind him, he saw that one of the guards was right behind him. The boy quickly noticed that this guard also had one of the ugly crests on his sleeve.
“Why do you all have those markings? They’re hideous! They don’t represent Brazil at all!” the kid exclaimed. The man in all black remained unfazed. Keeping his cold, demeaning, glare, he snapped his fingers. Immediately, ten more soldiers arrived and surrounded the little boy. They all had this mysterious crest on their outfit.
“Bring him to me.” this man ordered.
Two soldiers grabbed the boy and threw him at the man. The boy tried getting up, but upon standing, he felt a sharp pain in his lower left leg and right upper arm. It wasn’t worth fighting against this man. He tried to put a serious look on his face but to no avail.
“Who are you, you silly boy?”
The boy chose not to respond.
“Not one to talk? Osvaldo, Lúcio.” this man signaled to two of the guards. They nodded and began closing the door to the chamber.
“No! Don’t close that door!”
Too late. The moment the boy heard the massive doors slam shut and the lock secured, he knew he was at the mercy of whoever this group was.
“Wh-, wh-, where is the king?” the boy shakily asked.
The man finally grinned.
“Pedro? Ha! He’s done for. Don’t you even recognize who we are?” the man revealed with a smug look.
“No. Especially not a group with a horrible crest like that.”
“Why are you here, then? Don’t you know that we are in charge now?”
“I need the king – Wait… did you say, ‘in charge now’?” The boy grew incredibly angry. He mustered barely enough strength to try to scratch the man in black. It only made him wince more in pain.
“Listen here, boy. My name is Deodoro da Fonseca. I am the new leader of Brazil. And whatever your pitiful concern is, it’s not worth our time. Now, you can either live in one piece, or I can have my guards gut you and rip you apart.”
At this point, the boy was visibly shaking in fear. From his pitiful looks, he begged to live. Fonseca rolled his eyes.
“If you promise to improve factory conditions, I’ll leave.” the boy offered. Fonseca just scoffed and snapped his fingers at the guards.
“Let him out. He makes me sick.” Fonseca ordered.
When the boy finally limped out of the castle, he noticed someone familiar. It was that poor girl from the edge of the suburbs. What in blazes was she doing here?
“I told you. There is no way to convince them now. Brazil is now at the mercy of these troops.” she warned.
The boy was both confused and angry.
“Some guy named Fonseco kicked me out! Who even is he? And where is Pedro II?” the boy complained.
“He’s the Field Marshal.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“He’s part of the military.”
That last word struck a hole in the boy’s heart. He remembered this girl’s warnings back at the edge of Rio. But how on earth did she know this beforehand? Was it worth it to ask the girl? He figured no and began his long, aching journey back to São Paulo.
Readers, now is the time to start assuming things about this girl. Or even better yet, me. I’m pretty sure you can piece the puzzle together with some thinking and a little magic. Besides, what’s a story without a good narrator, am I right?
So for now, young readers, I hope you’ve actually read through this whole thing instead of just skimming this whole thing. Why, young readers, if there’s more you’d like to learn about your country’s history, just ask. I’d be happy to tell you more.
Creative Response – Creator’s Statement
When browsing stories in Brazilian lit, I searched for anything related to Brazilian independence, civil wars, or coups. I wouldn’t say I’m into war fiction and politics, but I enjoy learning about how countries fared during wars and exploring about various political situations and seeing how that would impact their respective countries. I also occasionally write about a fictional world where war and politics are recurring themes. So when it came time to choose I story, I wanted to find a story that discussed change or unity during wartime.
The texts in A Cruzada proved to be what I was looking for. It combined my interests in war, my passion for Portuguese, and my goal of bringing to light a story about social change. One of these texts, Typos, resonated with me the most, as it focused on promoting social change by raising awareness about the troubles the youth experienced in the 1880s. For my digital edition, I wanted to incorporate the ideas of portraits from Typos, war and politics, and social change into a short story of my own.
This story provides young readers with a snapshot of Brazilian history, specifically when the military overthrew the monarchy and the uncertainty that followed this shift. The premise is simple: a young boy is fed up with his poor working conditions at the factory, and he wants to speak directly to Pedro II to fix this issue. He arrives at the capital amid the military’s coup, headed by Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. The boy tries to plead his case with the Marshal, but there is no guarantee Fonseca would listen to the boy and make those changes.
I chose to tell the tale from the perspective of a teenage boy working at the textile factories for two reasons. The first is to evoke the idea of portraits. I wanted to write something like Typos, one of the smaller stories in A Cruzada. I maintained the theme of children growing up in the empire, but provided a new perspective to this theme of change: would the new republic bring the change Brazilians wanted? Would the children be alright with it?
Speaking of teenagers, the second reason why I chose a teenage boy is that many teenagers today are advocates for change. In America, Brazil, and around the world, many youth groups are leading movements demanding change and reform in all aspects of society, from racism to gender equality and better working conditions. Having a teenager as the protagonist of this story calls to this idea of teenage activism and speaking to rulers and politicians demanding change. This also ties into the last reason why I chose to focus on these texts for my periodical. Change can stem from anything. As long as enough people believe in a cause, then no matter where these people are, they will form a crusade advocating for their cause. I wanted to show this not only by including Typos, but also by writing a response to the story that follow a similar themes of change.
On a different note, the other source of inspiration for this story was Machado de Assis, one of, if not the most, notable Brazilian authors. In his stories, the narrator addresses the readers, usually by taking on the personalities of certain characters29. For example, in Miss Dollar, the narrator begins the story with phrases like, “For the purposes of this story,” and “If you, the reader, are male and of a melancholy bent, imagine, then…” I like this witty take on the narrator because it adds more to their character and makes the story feel more realistic. So I decided to follow Machado’s style and make a witty narrator as a way to engage my audience with the narrator. Since my story is directed more towards young adults and older children, I used a witty narrator as a way to make the story seem a bit more personable. In my years of writing and storytelling, I find that you have a better experience with a story if the narrator has some character or personality. Having a witty narrator can help make the story more exciting and engaging. This is why I include phrases such as, “And if, by now, you haven’t assumed anything about the narrator yet.” and”You’re welcome.”
The biggest accomplishment of this story was abstaining from using AI. Sure, models like ChatGPT and OpenAI are widely available and used nowadays, but AI wouldn’t help me during the writing process. I’ve experimented using ChatGPT before to write small 1,000-word stories, but the results were very generic and bland. Plus, it’s not in my nature to find “shortcuts” to complete my work, especially if it provides less-than-desirable results. Yes, digital technology is great, but there’s something more inspiring and uplifting about writing something start-to-finish from scratch.
Overall, this was an absolute joy to write. It was my first time writing historical fiction and a full short story. As I mentioned in my translator’s statement, there’s something magical about reading (and now writing) something in a different language. I have transported myself to the world of Portuguese literature, and I can’t wait to explore it even more.
Other texts
For further exploration on Brazilian society, here are a few other texts from the periodical.
To the Hungry: Alms
But it was solemn!
You, who boast of having a piece of granite instead of a heart; you, who refused a simple nickel, with a scoundrel smile playing on your lips; Leave for a moment all your foolish philosophy, more pernicious than that of Epicurus, and come and admire the grandeur of the prestige:
-All pale; the lividity of the calamity is stamped on all their faces.
No one has any sign that even indicates indifference. And the sounds of the marching bands turn into mournful notes that indicate the sufferings beyond…
They are all pale as pain itself. And those who show indifference have their heads bowed in the face of the involuntary commotion that overwhelms their spirits.
The immense quilt the color of mourning; the windows full of sad and pensive girls remembering that perhaps tomorrow the same scourge will make them writhe in the most frightening of agonies – that of hunger; behold, everything contributes to that involuntary shiver of pain; and everyone forgets that about something as holy as charity one wants to make a propaganda platform or a complaints counter…
Poems
Salutation
The immense glory
that you are about to conquer is brilliant!
Which translates manly sentence
Which says to you: -People march!
-Go climb high,
-The glory with heroism
-Throw the cliffs to the ground
–Who rob you of your majesty
-Hey! I heard: but now,
Of joy, sing. It’s time!
It’s time when the noble nobles
More seeds of new deeds
Pointing out a great people
Pointing out glories’
It’s that after an honor
Rows of glories rise
And after a memory, victories come from the heavens!…
-Here are wedding dates
-In an eternal world of heroes.
Be proud, great people,
The sheet on which our history.
You will keep such a noble feat
It is not of blood.- It is of memory,
It’s a victory trophy
That elevates itself on a pedestal
Where the right is enthroned
Where mourning is worthless…
-It is a coat of arms of brilliance,
-Crowned with a thousand flowers!
Break chains and trunks
Without grapeshot, without discord!
Yes, with laughter and flowers,
In the greatest peace and concord’
And’ worthy of a noble people;
It’s only Brazil’s glory’
Winning a tremendous battle
without the sound of a rifle…
It’s applause coming from the heavens!
These are blessings that come from God!
Sing with pride, ufanos,
Your glories triumphant;
For you know, almighty ones,
To achieve great victories,
-Go, O nation of brave,
Athletes of great souls;
March in search of light,
-Laureates of applause!
Forward! that glory is blond
That has more shine than gold!
– Bahia, May 13, 89.
– Evangelista Pereira.
Character of Dreams
An untamed and shadowy and strong giant
Whose strong arms he has raised into the air,
With lion’s wrists breaking chains
And his gaze of fire;From stone to hair, huge, colossal,
From wire to his beard, immense and down-to the ground,
Retreating the untamed beasts
To the dens of the backlands;Thus following the road, impavido, fearsome,
With virile shoulders formed of granite,
Seeming to brush against those lofty clouds
And split the infinite;I would go on that walk to tear down walls,
That virile bearing that would frighten the sea
From the waves to collect a shiny g——
And from the sky a collar.– Pinho Paraizo
Other Sources Used
Government, Brazilian. Coat of arms of Republic of United States of Brazil. 10 December 2013. Vector created by Milenioscuro. Wikipedia, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30098361 .
Lusofonista, Almanaque. Bandeira do Império do Brasil com nó e cores corretos. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Facade_of_Museu_Historico_Nacional_-_Downtown_Rio_de_Janeiro_-_Brazil_(17530931716).jpg. Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Brazil#/media/File:Bandeira_do_Imp%C3%A9rio_do_Brasil_com_n%C3%B3_e_cores_corretos.png .
Sitenl. Flag of Brazil (November 1889). 31 December 2005. Source was the author’s own work. Wikipedia, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=488465 .
Tonyjeff. CoA Empire of Brazil (1822-1870). 2007-06-17. Design from 1822. Symbol of the XIX century. Based on work of Jean-Baptiste Debret. Wikipedia, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2257055 .
License
The text of “A Cruzada” is in the public domain.
All editorial material by Anonymous MIT student is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Crusades#:~:text=Crusades%2C%20military%20expeditions%2C%20beginning%20in%20the%20late%2011th%20century%2C%20that%20were%20organized%20by%20western%20European%20Christians%20in%20response%20to%20centuries%20of%20Muslim%20wars%20of%20expansion.↩︎
- This is the best translation that comes up for this word. The issue is that the actual Portuguese word is tipos (with an i, rather than a y), so there is no official translation for Typos. Thus, I had to go with the closest word for this translation.↩︎
- I will put the translations for these words in the footnotes.↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_of_Brazil#:~:text=Brazil%20was%20enjoying%20internal%20stability%20and%20economic%20prosperity.↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_Brazil#:~:text=Children%20were%20injured%20or%20killed%20by%20the%20harsh%20work%2C%20poor%20working%20conditions%2C%20and%20violent%20treatment%20by%20their%20bosses.↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_Brazil#:~:text=Child%20labor%2C%20according%20to%20the%20ILO%2C%5B8%5D%20is%20%22work%20that%20deprives%20children%20of%20their%20childhood%2C%20their%20potential%2C%20and%20their%20dignity%2C%20and%20that%20is%20harmful%20to%20physical%20and%20mental%20development.%22↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_Brazil#:~:text=Brazil%20still%20accounts%20for%20one%2Dfourth%20of%20Latin%20America%27s%20underage%20workers%20in↩︎
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_Brazil#:~:text=Since%20the%20enactment%20of%20the%201988%20constitution%2C%20child%20labor%20has%20been%20illegal%20in%20the%20country.↩︎
- https://hbr.org/1995/05/why-the-news-is-not-the-truth#:~:text=The%20news%20media%20and%20the%20government%20are%20entwined%20in%20a%20vicious%20circle%20of%20mutual%20manipulation%2C%20mythmaking%2C%20and%20self%2Dinterest.↩︎
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Brazil/The-collapse-of-the-empire#:~:text=military%20officers%20carried%20out%20a%20coup%20on%20November%2015%2C%201889.↩︎
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/2506062?seq=3↩︎
- https://library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-4/abolition/#:~:text=of%20Wikimedia%20Commons.-,The%20%E2%80%98Lei%20Aurea%E2%80%99,-The%20Lei%20Aurea↩︎
- This translates to ‘caltrop’, which is a type of weapon made of sharp nails/spines. https://jnlwp.defense.gov/Current-Intermediate-Force-Capabilities/Caltrops/#:~:text=Caltrops%20are%20four%2Dpronged%2C%20heavy,Multiple%20Services%20employ%20these%20devices.↩︎
- This is Portuguese for “homeland” or “fatherland”.↩︎
- Translates to ‘magazine.’ In modern Portuguese, this is a revista.↩︎
- Translates to ‘Portuguese.’↩︎
- Translates to ‘newspaper.’ This is a standard Portuguese word.↩︎
- Translates to ‘store.’ This is now a standard word in Portuguese.↩︎
- In modern Portuguese, this is armazéns, which is Portuguese for ‘warehouses.’↩︎
- ‘Modas’ translates to ‘fashion’, so ‘loja de modas’ means ‘fashion store.’↩︎
- This will roughly translate to ‘chest piece.’↩︎
- Translates to ‘card or sample book.’↩︎
- I am unsure what this translates to.↩︎
- There are a few curse words in this story, so I will use dashes to censor them.↩︎
- Translates to ‘oh Jesus.’↩︎
- Even today, Brazil still has a lot of child labor. But during the 1800s, many children worked in textile factories. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labor_in_Brazil#:~:text=In%201890%2C%2025%20percent%20of%20S%C3%A3o%20Paulo%27s%20textile%20labor%20force%20was%20made%20up%20of%20children%3B%5B5%5D%20in%201865%20Rio%20de%20Janeiro%2C%2064%20percent%20of%20workers%20in%20a%20textile%20factory%20were%20children.%5B18%5D↩︎
- Up until 1960, the capital was Rio de Janeiro. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_in_Brazil↩︎
- São Paulo has some spurs of mountains. https://www.britannica.com/place/Sao-Paulo-state-Brazil↩︎
- https://www.gale.com/intl/databases-explored/literature/machado-de-assis#:~:text=he%20narrates%20the%20story%20in%20the%20first%20person%2C%20assuming%20the%20personality%20of%20his%20character↩︎