The transformation of the “Valongo Complex”: claims for recognition and visibility in Rio’s port zone

Clemens van Loyen - University of Munich

Following local, national, and international heritage efforts, the Valongo Complex in Rio de Janeiro's old port area was to become one of the best documented sites of the transatlantic slave trade in the history of slavery. Due to urban “beautification” measures in the past, its significance remained hidden in Rio's public memory – until 2009, when the recent transformation process in Rio's port zone gained momentum as part of the current urban renewal, the Porto Maravilha (Wonder Port) project.
Long time ignored, the Afro-descendent population of the port area had become accustomed to social and cultural neglect by state and municipal authorities. Although the current urban renewal project initially had little interest in honoring the archaeological and cultural heritage of Afro-Brazilians, this changed abruptly with the so-called rediscovery of the Valongo Wharf in 2011.
The issue of slavery in Brazil has taken a back seat to racism and ethnically based inequality, although it is causal to the latter. In the wake of recent findings on the logistics of slavery in Brazil, as well as current debates on racism and the rise of unequal treatment among certain groups during the ongoing pandemic, the Valongo Complex is addressed both historically and socially.
Embedded in the research group Urban Ethics, this presentation looks at the actors in this transformation, searches for the discourses and strategies used to create a historical narrative around the Valongo Complex, and shows how the practices of heritage and memory construction are intertwined with different claims for recognition and visibility in Rio's port zone.