When did Maré begin to exist? The answer to this question is directly linked to understanding what the territories that currently make up Maré are and were. Neighborhoods? Favelas?
Until the beginning of the 20th century, Maria Angu Beach was home to a port responsible for shipping out the production of several farms located in Irajá, Inhaúma, and other neighborhoods in the region. This former beach was landfilled and is now located in the area of Penha and Ramos, along the banks of Avenida Brasil, in what is now the city of Rio de Janeiro's 30th Administrative Region, Maré.
Over time, a territory can undergo many transformations. Streets, urban facilities, housing, residents, names… These transformations change references, alter the perceptions of those who live in or pass through the area, and create and recreate identities.
Image description: This is an old black-and-white photograph. The image shows a square with buildings in the background and a road in front. On the left, there is a building with classical architecture, possibly a theater or a cultural center. In the center, there is an old car parked on the road. On the right, there is a muddy area and a boat by the water. On the horizon, we see some simple houses and a distant mountain. At the bottom of the image, it reads "18836 - Porto de Maria Angu - Rio - 7-11-1928".Porto de Maria Angu, Augusto Malta, 1928. Acervo: MIS
In 1906, the property and household census conducted in what was then the federal capital identified some dwellings located in areas and streets that would later become part of some of Maré's favelas. Maria Angu beach had 17 houses, all single-story. Nova Jerusalém street, in turn, had 11 houses, also single-story – today, it is the main thoroughfare of Baixa do Sapateiro, one of the oldest favelas in Maré, established as such in the 1940s.
In the map of the City of Rio, made by the Secretaria de Viação e Obras in 1935, several houses already appear on Rua dos Caetés – now Morro do Timbau – and, on Rua Nova Jerusalém, almost thirty years after the 1906 building census, more than 30 residences are listed.
Gradually, these simple isolated houses started gaining neighbors. More people, more houses… Some people climbed the hill, others occupied the shores of Guanabara Bay, some even moved into the sea itself. The territory changed once again: favelas emerged, grew, and became structured as places distinct from the neighborhood and from one another.
The old Port of Inhaúma, one of the docks where boats from the intense commercial flow of Guanabara Bay used to arrive, lost importance following the modernization of the Port of Rio and the installation of the railway line, with stations very close by, such as the Bom Sucesso Station.
Image description: The image is an old engraving, possibly of a map or urban plan. The spatial layout begins on the left, where we see streets and buildings arranged in a grid. Moving to the right, we notice a more densely populated area with closely spaced buildings. In the center, there is a large open area, possibly a park or square, marked by lines representing paths or roads. On the right, there is an elevation with mountain contours, standing out with topographic lines. The map is in black and white, with text written in uppercase letters.Planta da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, Secretaria de Viação, Trabalho e Obras Públicas, 1935. Acervo: Arquivo Geral da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro
Comparing the 1935 plan with a recent satellite image, we see that the larger number of dwellings, the size of the lots, and the narrow streets provided tools for the area to be read as a favela by Rio society. It was from these varied transformations that this part of the city, the former Praia de Inhaúma, turned into Bom Sucesso (previously spelled that way, as two separate words). A typical neighborhood of Rio's suburbs, with a train line, country estates, then factories… and favelas, which did not emerge as "favelas."
They were poorer houses, but not so different from the fishermen's houses that had inhabited the site for decades. The very names of the area's parishes refer to the sea and fishing activity, such as the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes Church, opened in the 1950s. The stilt house, a construction technology used by riverside dwellers, marked the landscape of this waterfront for decades.
Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a community located near a body of water. The image shows several houses built of wood, with sloped roofs, arranged in rows along the river. On the left, we see boats floating on the river, while on the right, the river stretches to the horizon. The houses are built on stilts over the river, allowing the water to flow beneath them.Favela da Avenida Brasil, 1961. Arquivo Nacional.
