DonaOrosina,aFeminineRisingTide

"Woman of the favela" is a term that carries many meanings, and the feminine face of Maré's construction is the meaning mobilized in this room. It is common in many favelas that the struggles for housing, for raising children, for space, are led by women, although they have often been disregarded in the narratives produced about these struggles.

Starting with Dona Orosina: a Black woman, a migrant from Minas Gerais, who reportedly built one of the first shacks in the area and became a kind of 'ground zero' for the favelas in the region, appearing in the ‘mareenses’' narrative as the first resident of Maré in the 1940s (when the territory came to be understood as a favela).

Image description: The image is an old black-and-white photograph. The woman is centered in the photo, with short, dark hair. She is smiling, showing white teeth. The background is plain, with no additional details.

Despite records of occupation of the territory in periods before her arrival, Dona Orosina reportedly went down in local history as the first ‘favelada,’ due to the characteristics of the occupation. The date coincides with a process that was taking place on a broader scale, when the press, authorities, and part of society began to look with concern at the occupation of hills, beaches, and the margins of rivers and lagoons by the poor population, forming the ‘favelas,’ blaming residents for the lack of an adequate public transportation system or for the low wages that led them to resort to improvised housing.

According to local lore, Dona Orosina is said to have moved away from downtown because of her husband's health, as he needed a more open, airy environment. The territory of Maré, in the 1940s, with its clean-watered coastline and tree-lined islands, offered fresh breeze and pure air. So Dona Orosina and her husband built a shack on Morro do Timbau and stood up to the soldiers from the barracks nearby, who at times wanted to drive them out and at other times wanted to charge them fees. Dona Orosina wrote to then-president Getúlio Vargas asking for help, and he is said to have granted her request, ordering the fees to be suspended. Whether or not the story is true (we don't know), it is plausible. Vargas did in fact build good relationships with many favela residents, such as those of Jacarezinho and the now-vanished Praia do Pinto, in Leblon.

Having passed away in 1994, already a centenarian, Dona Orosina left roots in Maré: some residents have memories of the affection she showed to the children who were brought by their mothers to be blessed by her. Beyond the affectionate memory, the representation of Dona Orosina as the first resident of Maré is based on recollections of her persistence in the fight to secure a place to live and remain.

Image description: The image is a mural painting of a woman with short hair tied up in a bun. The painting is on a gray wall, with large, colorful letters in the background, predominantly purple and lilac. In the bottom left corner, there is a signature that reads "CAZÉ ARTES." At the bottom of the image, dry leaves are scattered on the ground.