20/01/2026
Gamaliel Santana is a smart kid ! I came to meet his mom during her lunch break at the primary school where she teaches.
Gamaliel "what is that book for ?"
Me "it's a notebook, to write down stuff"
G What stuff ?
M People's phone numbers
G What for ?
M To reach them and check their records, like your mother
G What do you do with the records ?
M I resell, collect and listen to them
G Ah OK
The Santana family are descendants of freed slaves who came back from Brazil in the 19th century. The same migration movement happened in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and likely other places I'm not aware of. They’re called agoudas, retornados in Portuguese, returnees, and carried with them certain craft know how, cultural expressions, and the Portuguese language. All this has pretty much disappeared in the second half of the 20th century. But if you go to Salvador da Bahia and then come here with you might see things time doesn’t erase, such as religious belief, body language, certain meals, a bit of architecture, etc.
