“Ô abre alas que eu quero passar”: breaking the silence about Chiquinha Gonzaga's blackness

Abstract

In this article, I discuss the consolidation of the image of Chiquinha Gonzaga, a central character in the history of choro from Rio de Janeiro. The disputes fought in the process of building her memory have deep roots in the political project of whitening the Brazilian population, initiated in the post-abolition context. The historical representations of Chiquinha Gonzaga can reveal fundamental aspects for understanding the Brazilian racism that endorses the whitening of black characters in our history. To reflect on the silences about Chiquinha's blackness, I analyze the interpretations of the character by white actresses in the theater and on TV. The silence about her blackness will be discussed in the light of recent post-colonial struggles that have stimulated revisions of the past, disputing narratives and proposing epistemological reformulations that claim a writing produced in the framework of the colonial experience.