Ouro Preto :
The Historic City
In Ouro Preto,
we've learned a lot of things, such as:
-Churches and
their art style.
-Mines and
their usage and importance to the Portuguese kingdom
-Their museums
-Their streets
and houses
-Their culture
( Such as Congado )
About their churches, there are many in
Ouro Preto , Such as Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, that has been decorated
by The one and only Master Ataide. The Brazillian Master of the
"Rococo" and "Barroco" art styles.
The Nossa Senhora do Pilar Church has
used 400 kilograms of gold and silver during its construction and decoration,
and is the most popular and most famous of the churches in Ouro Preto , its
altar has about 400 angels sculped into it.
The Santa Efigênia Church was constructed
by a society of ex-slaves , and it is at the top of a hill, it has a lot of African
culture elements into it, such as animals.
The "Mina da Passagem" is one
of the most famous mines in Ouro Preto, it is 100 meters deep, and due to its
deepness, the temperature of the mine gets colder (about 5º degrees colder), It
has given about 15 tons of gold to the miners, and due to a tax that existed (Quinto
/ Fifth), about 20% (or a fifth) of the gold extracted had to go to Portugal,
and about 3 tons of gold went to Portugal, just from "Mina da
Passagem".
The Museums
Ouro Preto has are:
-Inconfidence
Museum
-Casa dos
Contos - also known as The Tax House.
The Tax House
is famous for being used for various purposes through history,
such as :
A House
A Tax House
The Inconfident hideout during the Inconfidencia
A Gold Smelting
House
A Mint
A Museum (Today)
The Streets in Ouro Preto are peculiar,
they are very narrow, leaving little to no space on the sidewalks, and Ouro
Preto as a whole is like an inside out volcano, the center being the lowest
height, and the entrances to the city being high into the valleys, and yes, the
climate is very hot.
The culture of Ouro Preto has a very wide
range, but we are focusing on one topic only, Congado.
Congado is, in short, a representation of
what a crowning celebration would be in Congo, it was first introduced in the
community of Santa Efigênia, it involves dancing, music, and various other
themes from Africa, the "King" and the "Queen" to be
"crowned" use rich dressings , while the others, don't.
The Congado itself was used as a cultural
resistance against the oppression of the Portuguese against the African
culture, and it still lives today.
Authors:
Marcos F. M.
Shiraishi , 35 , 8ºC
Gianpaollo A. Zanini , 14 , 8ºC
Giovanni Guedes , 16, 8ºC
Gabriel Vesquine, 11, 8ºC
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