Museum AC 1 • ART Waury

Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel, known as Antônio Conselheiro (translated: Antonio the counsellor) was born in this house in the district town of Quixeramobim in 1830. His father was a trader, the large gates indicate the business of the time.

Due to family difficulties, the educated man moved far away and realized his life as an itinerant preacher. He went preaching in the deserts of the Sertão, the dry steppe. He was joined by a wide variety of people from different social classes and life situations.
An altruistic community emerged, which was led socially and spiritually.

He had good contacts with officials and was able to negotiate.

So the growing group travelled from place to place with a portable altar and proclaimed the word of God.




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	Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel, known as Antônio Conselheiro (translated: Antonio the counsellor) was born in this house in the district town of Quixeramobim in 1830. His father was a trader, the large gates indicate the business of the time. Due to family difficulties, the educated man moved far away and realized his life as an itinerant preacher. He went preaching in the deserts of the Sertão, the dry steppe. He was joined by a wide variety of people from different social classes and life situations. An altruistic community emerged, which was led socially and spiritually. He had good contacts with officials and was able to negotiate. So the growing group travelled from place to place with a portable altar and proclaimed the word of God.
















			And so it was that Antonio's followers built a dam for a town. Then as now, reservoirs were the backbone of life during dry periods. So as not to see history in local isolation: There was a worldwide upheaval. Monarchies were abolished, except in England. The republics were proclaimed. Antônio Conselheiro witnessed a very bad treatment of a poor, old, begging woman by republicans in a marketplace. He could not see the good side of the republicans, and therefore favoured the monarchy.
	It is interesting to note that he is better known in Salvador de Bahia, 1000 kilometres away, than in his home town. When the artist wanted to take a bus tour of Salvador, he spoke to a man beforehand and mentioned Antônio Conselheiro. The older man, in his mid-sixties, was happily surprised to hear such a thing and urgently asked the bus driver to keep an eye on this foreigner and let him off at this exact stop.








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	When the city of Belo Monte was created by them, the new government in Rio de Janeiro sent thousands of soldiers to destroy the monarchists. Only the 4th invasion won and destroyed the city down to its foundations. All the inhabitants were killed. This, in turn, is a crime that has hardly been given justice. In order to promote forgetfulness, the rest was put under water - by means of a dam. There was never a war in Brazil, but here the dynamics touched off a civil war.

	Incidentally, the ‘favela’ is a flower from the Sertao! The hired mercenaries and freed slaves who found a job as soldiers returned to Rio de Janeiro and brought this flower with them. Where were the returnees supposed to go? As today's reader, you know what happened as a result of this political irresponsibility !







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