Old Petrolândia: memories of a city lost in the semiarid of Pernambuco

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v55i0.73278

Keywords:

semi-arid, territoriality, collective memory, melancholy

Abstract

Petrolandia, is a Brazilian city located at the semi-arid region of Pernambuco’s State which was flooded in 1988 due to the installation of Luiz Gonzaga hydroelectric power plant. This work discusses the collective memories about this flood and its subjective effects through the analysis of 10 individual interviews with “old Petrolandia’s” dwellers and one conversation with young dwellers from the “House of Youth” who live in the new city. It was possible through discourse analysis to reflect about the historical and imaginary references of those who lived in the old territory and how they reflected on those who didn’t experience the transition to the new. It was observed that as much as the past is shared, the Dam’s historic landmark does not reach the young people. The former dwellers suffering is due to territory and monuments losses, which requires mourning and adaptation to the new city. Institutionally, the public administration and the São Franscisco hydroelectric power (CHESF) neglect, still affects the city’s life, progress and development. Petrolandia takes on an ever long transition state because of water and natural resources exploration after the flood. This results in the inhabitant impressions of living in a nowhere territory and a cultural identity based on a melancholic position.

Author Biographies

Kerollayne Cavalcante Gominho, Universidade de Pernambuco

Psicóloga formada pela Universidade de Pernambuco. Pós-graduanda no programa de Residência Multiprofissional em Atenção Hospitalar com ênfase em Gestão do Cuidado no Hospital Regional Dom Moura pela Escola de Governo em Saúde Pública de Pernambuco.

Henrique Figueiredo Carneiro, Universidade de Pernambuco

Psicólogo formado pela Universidade Federal do Ceará. Mestre em Ciencias de La Religión - Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid. Doutor em Psicologia - Fundamentos y Desarrollos Psicoanalíticos: Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid. Professor Associado e Livre docente UPE e Coordenador do Mestrado Saúde Mental UPE- Campus Garanhuns. 

Downloads

Published

2020-12-17

How to Cite

Gominho, K. C., & Carneiro, H. F. (2020). Old Petrolândia: memories of a city lost in the semiarid of Pernambuco. Desenvolvimento E Meio Ambiente, 55. https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v55i0.73278

Issue

Vol. 55 (2020): Society and environment in the Semiarido: controversies and approaches

Section

Society and environment in the Semiárido: controversies and approaches

License

Copyright on works published in this journal rests with the author, with first publication rights for the journal. The content of published works is the sole responsibility of the authors. DMA is an open access journal and has adopted the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Not Adapted (CC-BY) license since January 2023. Therefore, when published by this journal, articles are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercial) and adapt (remix, transform, and create from the material for any purpose, even commercial). You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license and indicate if changes have been made.

The contents published by DMA from v. 53, 2020 to v. 60, 2022 are protected by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

DMA has been an open access journal since its creation, however, from v.1 of 2000 to v. 52 of 2019, the journal did not adopt a Creative Commons license and therefore the type of license is not indicated on the first page of the articles.