São Paulo – The beautiful Alagoas will be the backdrop for the next book by author Gilberto Abrão. Originally from Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná, this son of Syrian parents has already written two books, both with Arab themes. What does the universe of the Arabs have to do with the warm climate of Alagoas? That is what Abrão plans to discover in his research in the state, which began in February, in state capital Maceió. The starting point for such is the relations between the cangaceiros (outlaws) and immigrants in the community, mainly those from Syria and Lebanon.
“I know that many Arab peddlers travelled in the company of cangaceiros, also to sell their products,” said Abrão. “From there, I am going to conduct my research on the Arab presence in Alagoas,” he explained. The state was chosen over other northeastern Brazilian states in which cangaceiros were also present, including Pernambuco, where the most famous of cangaceiros, Virgulino Ferreira da Silva, Lampião, was born, for purely sentimental reasons. “I love this place: the beaches, climate, people, food… everything,” said Abrão. “It was a way of conciliating research and a few days off, too.”
One of the writer’s first activities in Maceió is a visit to Pierre Chalita Foundation, on Wednesday, February 29th. The foundation includes a museum with Brazilian art created in 1980 by its founder, artist and architect Pierre Chalita. Deceased in 2010, Chalita had Arab roots. “I will meet with representatives at the foundation, who will help me with other contracts,” explained Abrão.
According to the writer, setting an Arab themed novel in the Northeast was also a way of escaping the obvious. “All you have to do is walk around cities like São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and even Curitiba to find references to the community in a shop, restaurant or even in a street name,” he explained. “This is not the case in the Northeastern capitals, which spiked my interest,” he explained.
The fruit of Abrão’s curiosity, that is, his third novel, should be released in mid-2013, according to the author.
Before launching the current project, Abrão wrote Mohamed, o latoeiro (Mohamed, the tinsmith) through publishing house Primavera Editorial, in 2009, and O Muçulmano e a Judia (The Muslim and the Jew) through Companhia Editora Nacional, in 2011. The first work tells the story of the Syrian Mohamed, who moves to Brazil in the 1920s. The second tells a love story “with a political setting”, in the words of the author.
Anything else about the third novel, apart from the fact that it has Arabs and cangaceiros in the storyline? “Not yet, I have only just started organizing ideas, for strengthening after the research in Alagoas,” he said. However it may be, Abrão guarantees that, in the breaks between his work, with swims at Pajuçara beach, in Maceió, inspiration should not be lacking.
*Translated by Mark Ament
