By Nilma Gonçalves
When he passed in front of the house where Antônio Conselheiro lived, the boy Osvaldo had the feeling of being in front of something of the order of the indecipherable, like someone wondering how the mandacaru could be full of water, being in the middle of the dryness of the backlands. Born in Quixeramobim, Ceará, the same place as Conselheiro, his childhood was filled with stories and stories about that mysterious character, hero for some, villain for others, who, unintentionally, tied the knot in the first years of the Republic of Brazil, even in the 19th century. Now, the now adult Osvaldo Costa Martins presents his view of the facts, in 'Antonino Peregrino' , published by Solisluna, with illustrations by Luci Sacoleira .
“I was always curious about that man who was spoken of, most of the time, in a pejorative sense, but who had founded another city, which culminated in a war and a tragedy. The doors of his house were always enigmas to me, like the enigmas that childhood poses to children or that children pose to childhood and the world”, says the writer, who is also a psychoanalyst and used, to some extent, from the craft to writing about a complex and intense character, as well as a brutal moment. This was one of the challenges in producing the work, aimed at all ages, but which speaks very well to children and young people.
Narrated in the first person, the publication brings the reader closer to Conselheiro’s singularity. According to Osvaldo, psychoanalysis collaborated in the composition of the narrative, without hiding the conflict, hatred and aggressiveness present in this episode in the History of Brazil. It also helped with the perspective of humanizing the Counselor. “The beauty is that he was not a hero, he was not superhuman. He was a man with his suffering, who managed, from his daily tragedies and miseries, to form a social bond capable of subverting reality”, assesses the author.
For the Ceará poet and historian Fabiano dos Santos Piúba, who wrote the opening text of 'Antonino Peregrino' , “Osvaldo Costa, for a few moments, writes as if taken by a Guimarães Rosa or a Manoel de Barros. But it's not. He writes like Osvaldo Costa, with his metaphors of thoughts that make us pilgrimage through the northeastern landscape and through the life of Antônio Conselheiro”.
Illustrations and text intertwine and dialogue
Words and figures intertwine to tell about a historical moment that seems very current. “The issues involved in Canudos are also present today: segregation, the attempt to silence the Northeast by the Southeast, exclusion, the concentration of income, land, racism, xenophobia, the lies produced by certain centers of power to empty popular strength, all of this is at stake. Arraial de Belo Monte, founded by Conselheiro, had a tragic end, but the story continues”, guarantees Osvaldo Costa Martins.
Released for the first time in 2018, through a culture notice from Ceará, the book was one of the finalists for the 2019 Jabuti Prize. Now in 2021, the authors are looking for Solisluna to edit it again: Valéria, who knew Luci Sacoleira and ' Antonino Peregrino' , happily agreed to publish, this time, with some format and finishing adaptations. “It’s a work that resonates with us, I really like Osvaldo’s poetic narrative, the text has enormous fluency and literary richness. Luci's illustrations are beautiful and with this northeastern strength and power. I am immensely proud that we published this book”, he celebrates.
2 comments
Só vi e já estou encantada! Parabéns, desde já, pelo resgate histórico, imprescindível que chegue às crianças!
Sou filha do mesmo sertão, esse, de Antônio e Osvaldo. Somos contemporâneos, como diz meu amigo Cláudio Ivo, quando quer falar de pessoas que nascem no mesmo lugar – nem insisto em dizer que é"conterrâneo", Ivo, conterrâneo! Assim, sinto na pele essa história, mesmo sem tê-la lido… Ainda assim, quero um exemplar. Me interessa, essa história. Escrevi uma também, para crianças! Como obtê-lo? De repente, até conheço Osvaldo, e ele à mim… contemporâneos que somos. Gratidão. Aguardo retorno.