The Vast Hinterland of Minas Gerais: the Cerrado's Soul
Revealing the heart of the Brazilian Cerrado, the world's most biodiverse savannah, photography unites literature and nature
Imagem do Cerrado by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
In a place that is not just territory, but that inhabits and is inhabited by it, the backlands manifest themselves in the middle of the crossing, or “within us”, as Guimarães Rosa wrote. And Cezar Félix, an avid reader of Rosa, crosses the Minas Gerais cerrado enchanted by the narrow paths — the oases of the backlands —, by the green corners and by the songs of the macaws, guiding us through the photographs that both reveal paths and invite us to see from close, an invitation to contemplation.
Lago de Nova Ponte, na região do Rio Paranaíba, oeste de Minas Gerais. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Nova Ponte Lake, in the Paranaíba River region, west of Minas Gerais
Between trails and shortcuts, lined with buriti trees and unkempt palm trees, backwater rivers and sloped landscapes: a vast hinterland. The geography of the Guimarães Rosa hinterland comprises the vast Cerrado region, also called geral by the people of western Minas Gerais, rich in plateaus, caves and water, due to important tributaries of the São Francisco river, such as the Urucuia and Carinhanha rivers.
Cachoeira do Tabuleiro, 273 metros de queda, na Serra do Espinhaço, Reserva da Biosfera, região central de Minas Gerais. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Cachoeira do Tabuleiro, 273 meters high, in Serra do Espinhaço, Biosphere Reserve, central region of Minas Gerais.
O pássaro “maria-preta-de-penacho” vive no Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra, sudoeste de Minas Gerais. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
The “maria-preta-de-penacho” bird lives in the Serra da Canastra National Park, southwest of Minas Gerais.
From very close up, you can see the birth of a river that crosses hundreds of municipalities. “Opará”, “Paripitinga”, “Velho Chico” or “São Francisco”; the almost three thousand kilometers of its watercourse originate flanked by humid and rocky fields. Other waters fall from such high points that seeing from afar makes the immensity of the fall clearer.
Nascente do São Francisco, na Serra da Canastra, rio que percorre 2.700 km pelo Brasil até chegar no Oceano Atlântico. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Source of the São Francisco, right in the middle of the Cerrado, in the Serra da Canastra, a river that runs 2,700 km through Brazil until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean.
O Rio São Francisco cruza o sertão, na região central do estado. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
The São Francisco River crosses the hinterland, in the central region of the state. In the photo you can see the vegetation arranged on the riverbank and a canoe making the journey to the community.
“River is just São Francisco, the Chico river. The small rest is a path" (Guimarães Rosa 1965:59).
Imagem de uma vereda, que no Cerrado é considerado o “oásis” do sertão, pois garante umidade mesmo na seca severa. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Image of a path, which in the Cerrado is considered the "oasis" of the backlands, as it guarantees humidity even in severe drought.
“Study: the buriti is from the banks, it drops its coconuts on the path ― the waters take them ― on the edges, the coconuts the waters themselves replant; hence the buritizal, on one side and on the other, aligning, following, as if by a calculation (...)"
(Guimarães Rosa 1965)
“Corujas-buraqueiras”, pássaros que são comuns no Cerrado brasileiro. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
“Burning owls”, birds that are common in the Brazilian Cerrado.
“Veado-campeiro”, uma das mais belas espécies que vivem no bioma Cerrado, e criticamente ameaçada de extinção. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
“Pampas deer” in the Cerrado and is critically endangered, one of the most beautiful species that live in the biome.
Casal de emas livres na natureza do Cerrado, no Parque Nacional da Serra da Canastra. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Couple of free emus in the Cerrado of the Serra da Canastra National Park.
Living up to its name, you can see the evergreens floating in any season of the year. One can see, on these paths that never end, who also followed them.
As “sempre-vivas”, flores típicas do Cerrado, no Parque Estadual da Serra do Cabral, na região central do estado. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
The “evergreens”, typical flowers of the Cerrado, in the Serra do Cabral State Park, in the central region of the state.
A humilde casa, construída com tijolos feitos de barro há cerca de 100 anos, fica na região central de Minas Gerais by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
The humble house, built with clay bricks around 100 years ago, is located in the municipality of Três Marias, on the banks of the São Francisco River.
“A backcountry place is publicized: it is where the pastures lack enclosures; where one can travel ten, fifteen leagues, without coming across a resident's house”
(Guimarães Rosa 1965:9).
What manifests itself within us is expressed through rhythms, colors, rites and prayers, amalgamated with the landscape itself. Traveling through the hinterland is also being crossed by the religious and syncretic spirit of so many who inhabit it, by an enormous profusion of heritages of African, European and Middle Eastern origins that promote the encounter between so many traditions.
Inside the Basilica of São Geraldo, in Curvelo - Minas Gerais, there are several sculptures of Catholic saints, with the walls painted in different colors, in addition to drawings of divine figures on the ceiling.
Also interested and involved in the vast cultural manifestation that the Cerrado embraces, Cezar Félix accompanies the procession of the Grupo de Congado Nossa Senhora do Retiro de Paraopeba — one of hundreds, throughout the hinterland — and the entry of sailors into the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Rosário. The Chapel of São José, located in Serra dos Alves (Itabira district), was built by the residents themselves in the 19th century, and is located inside the Basilica of São Geraldo de Curvelo — there is no other in the world dedicated to the saint.
Escultura de Nossa Senhora da Piedade, em estilo Barroco (1783), de autoria de Aleijadinho, que está no santuário da cidade Felixlândia, em pleno sertão. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Sculpture of Nossa Senhora da Piedade, in Baroque style (1783), the only work by Aleijadinho in the municipality of Felixlândia.
Personagem do Congado, manifestação cultural e religiosa católica, de matriz africana, que mistura música, dança e teatro. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Character of Congado, a Catholic cultural and religious event, of African origin, that mixes music, dance and theater.
Imagem dos marujos da congada de Nossa Senhora do Rosário Retiro, grupo tradicional da cidade de Paraopeba, localizada no sertão mineiro. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Image of sailors from the congada of Nossa Senhora do Rosário Retiro, a traditional group from the city of Paraopeba, located in the backlands of Minas Gerais.
Alegoria das tradicionais festas juninas, em homenagem a São João. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Allegory of the traditional June festivals in honor of Saint John.
Imagem de um vaqueiro do sertão, sentado em uma estrutura de um “carro” que é movido por bois. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Image of a cowboy from the backlands, sitting on the structure of a “car” that is moved by oxen.
Without an end or a beginning, there is a middle to the journey, unaware of time, lacking turns. And pauses.
You have to let yourself get lost, because when you least expect it, the sertão crosses over.
Lagoa natural do Cerrado, no município de Cruzeiro da Fortaleza, na região do Alto Paranaíba. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Natural Cerrado lagoon, in the municipality of Cruzeiro da Fortaleza, in the Alto Paranaíba region.
Imagem do amanhecer em uma área dominada pelos campos rupestres (ou campos de altitude) a cerca de 1.300 metros. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
Image of dawn in an area dominated by rupestrian fields (or high altitude fields) at around 1,300 meters.
O poente no Cerrado, em uma região plana do sertão, onde é possível observar a paisagem em um ângulo de 360 graus de amplitude. by Cezar FélixOriginal Source: Museu do Cerrado
The west in the Cerrado, in a flat region of the hinterland, where it is possible to observe the landscape at a 360-degree angle.
Cezar Felix
He is a journalist and photographer; editor-director of the company Veredas Editora. He is editor of Revista Sagarana - Turismo, Cultura e Natureza em Minas Gerais and of the portal www.revistasagarana.com.br.
Museu do Cerrado
Esta exposição "Vasto Sertão Gerais, o Cerrado de Minas" passou por Belo Horizonte, Curvelo e Três Marias, patrocinados pela MM Gerdau - Museu das Minas e do Metal e a companhia Gerdau, entre 19 de agosto a 30 de novembro de 2022.
Curadoria: Rosângela Azevedo Corrêa
Editor de Conteúdo: Stella Olímpio
Referência:
ROSA, João Guimarães. Grande sertão: veredas. 4. ed. São Paulo: J. Olympio, 1965.
