"The people go about hurriedly, in horror of the whipping post/ Because of this mess over the mandatory vaccine/ The wise old hands are insisting this time/ On thrusting the needle right into the customer's arm" Excerpt from the song "Vacina obrigatória," performed by Mario Pinheiro Whoever looks at this image of Praça da Harmonia, from 1926, cannot imagine what the place was like at the end of the 19th century. No bandstand or little square to be found: on streets of packed dirt or uneven cobblestone, the skeleton of an old market, turned into an overcrowded tenement, was home to freed Black people, dockworkers, and capoeira fighters. There, life happened in the narrow streets and in the warehouses near the sea. During the clashes of the Vaccine Revolt, that spot became a war trench, and, at the end of six days, among the 461 people who were arrested and deported was one of the most feared popular leaders of the revolt, the capoeira fighter Prata Preta. Prata Preta was the nickname of Horácio José da Silva, who, besides being a capoeira fighter, was a dockworker. A Black man, about 30 years old, he led the battles against the Army troops in what became known as the "Porto Artur of the Saúde neighborhood," in reference to the territory disputed in the Russo-Japanese War, which took place in 1904. The Saúde trenches were the last to fall. It was said there was dynamite and a cannon there to stop the advance of the military troops, but, when the rebels were subdued, it was discovered that the war materials were nothing but a ruse: the supposed dynamite was pieces of wood wrapped in silver paper, hung around the trenches. The cannon, in fact, was one of the many lampposts knocked down by the outraged population, mounted on two cart wheels. From a distance it was frightening, but it was incapable of firing even a single shot! The surrender of the Porto Artur of Saúde took place on November 16, when Prata Preta was arrested in a police ambush. After the decree of a state of siege, the barricades of Saúde – which occupied the entire Rua da Harmonia – were attacked: the Army advanced by land, and the Navy, with the battleship Deodoro, subdued the rebels by sea. The popular uprising that took place in the area of Praça da Harmonia contested the mandatory smallpox vaccination imposed by Oswaldo Cruz, but it also represented broad resistance to authoritarian "modernizing" policies that increasingly pushed the poor, particularly the Black population, toward the outskirts. In it, the memory of a population that, despite centuries of slavery, marginalization, and exclusion, kept its identity alive through resistance, takes shape. After the defeat of the rebels, Pereira Passos managed to carry out his reform, which ended up demolishing the old tenement of the Mercado da Harmonia, making way for the tree-lined, "civilized" square modeled after Parisian style. Prata Preta was the nickname of Horácio José da Silva, who, besides being a capoeira fighter, was a dockworker. A Black man, about 30 years old, he led the battles against the Army troops in what became known as the "Porto Artur of the Saúde neighborhood," in reference to the territory disputed in the Russo-Japanese War, which took place in 1904. The Saúde trenches were the last to fall. It was said there was dynamite and a cannon there to stop the advance of the military troops, but, when the rebels were subdued, it was discovered that the war materials were nothing but a ruse: the supposed dynamite was pieces of wood wrapped in silver paper, hung around the trenches. The cannon, in fact, was one of the many lampposts knocked down by the outraged population, mounted on two cart wheels. From a distance it was frightening, but it was incapable of even firing a single shot! The surrender of the Porto Artur of Saúde took place on November 16, when Prata Preta was arrested in a police ambush. After the decree of a state of siege, the barricades of Saúde – which occupied the entire Rua da Harmonia – were attacked: the Army advanced by land, and the Navy, with the battleship Deodoro, subdued the rebels by sea. The popular uprising that took place in the area of Praça da Harmonia contested the mandatory smallpox vaccination imposed by Oswaldo Cruz, but it also represented broad resistance to authoritarian "modernizing" policies that increasingly pushed the poor, particularly the Black population, toward the outskirts. In it, the memory of a population that, despite centuries of slavery, marginalization, and exclusion, kept its identity alive through resistance, takes shape. After the defeat of the rebels, Pereira Passos managed to carry out his reform, which ended up demolishing the old tenement of the Mercado da Harmonia, making way for the tree-lined, "civilized" square modeled after Parisian style.
Image description: This is an old photograph of a square, with trees scattered around the site. In the center, there is a music kiosk covered by a metal structure with a domed roof. On the left, we see people walking and talking. In the background, there are historic buildings with ornate façades. The square is surrounded by wooden benches and green lawn. In the lower left corner, there is a date and identification for the image: "15598 - Rio - 28-4-926 P. d'Harmonia".A Praça da Harmonia, oficialmente Praça Coronel Assunção, é uma praça localizada no bairro da Gamboa, na Zona Central do Rio de Janeiro. Localiza-se no quarteirão formado pelas ruas Antônio Lage e Sacadura Cabral.
