VILA BOA DE GOIÁS

Not too often is possible to observe such a strong connection between an artist and its habitat. Its impossible to speak about Cora Coralina and not to mention the place where she came from, “Cidade de Goiás”, (which formerly was called “Villa Bôa de Goyaz”).

Founded in 1726 by the country-side explorer, Bartolomeu Bueno, Villa Bôa de Goyaz was the capital of the state of Goyaz until 1933, due to the fact that the city was formed during the “gold mining cycle”. The city reached its apex during the eighteenth century. Its colonial architecture prefigures the antique aura that assumes the whole city. The sinuous little streets, the alleys, the stone walls. It all looks very attractive to locals, and also to people passing by the city and to tourists. It doesn´t take too long for they to enter this rhythm of life that is so different from the urban centers.

The contact with nature is also a very important point. Cidade de Goiás is located inside a valley and it´s surrounded by hills. Besides, there is the presence of the “Rio Vermelho” (Red River) which crosses the little town. The river by itself seems like a metaphor for a life that goes slowly. However, a striking fact, the flood that had destroyed almost the whole city in the year 2000, can also be regarded as an adversity that comes across the horizon of a life. This very same life must go on. Goiás was rebuilt and its history continues, catching more memories for ages to come.

Breathing the air of Goiás is comforting. The city is kept under its old style and measures since the local geography doesn’t allow the city to grow disorderly (which is so common in a lot of Brazilian colonial cities). Quietness rules, making alive Cora Coralina´s verses, bringing the smell of a past that still survives, a time made by oral history. The golden years of the gold mining cycle, the presence of religion, the hard work of the slaves. All of this seems to be gathered on the verse´s images that retell the life of Aninha. On Cora´s poems this oral tradition of telling a story is what makes a colloquial style. That’s the reason why the poet from Goiás assured, inside her poems, this symbiotic connection to the place where it was produced, making sensible the poetry that seems to naturally emanate from every corner of Cidade de Goiás.