Uses of the city: patrimonialization and a new meaning production in São João do Rio do Peixe [state of Paraiba, Brazil]

Abstract

The arrival of the first railway lines in 1922 to São João do Rio do Peixe, a municipality located in the Paraíba countryside, was the result of the efforts of Father Joaquim Cirilo de Sá and represented the arrival of the long-awaited modernity. From the arrival of the train, the city began to witness a wave of urban reforms that were intended to make it more seductive in the eyes of travelers and adapt it to its new reality. However, changes made in its territory eventually subtracted from it already sensible materialities. At this juncture, São João do Rio do Peixe sees its cemetery being marginalized and excluded from the area surrounding the city's train station where only those buildings similar to modernity were inserted through the arrival of the railway lines. But when there is a decline in rail transport and the consequent deactivation of railways, what is left of the population is an important railway heritage which, although full of memories of those who built ties there, goes through a state of neglect. Recognizing the relevance of the railway and all its consequences for the history of São João do Rio do Peixe, this article proposes to problematize the arrival of new symbols of the modern in the city, such as the Railway Station, and everything it represented and represents as a rail cultural heritage.