Nhá Quitéria from Sorocaba: Rebel Communication on the Wall

Abstract

This article focuses on the urban intervention of pichação (a form of graffiti) in Sorocaba, a city in the interior of São Paulo. The analysis is limited to a specific case centered on the figure of Nhá Quitéria, a formerly enslaved woman who lived in Sorocaba between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries. The objective is to discuss graffiti as urban art and media, examining it as a form of rebel communication that stands in opposition to official narratives. The question this article seeks to answer is whether pichação can establish itself as a producer of an alternative lieu de mémoire (place of memory). For theoretical support, we draw on Nora for the discussion of lieu de mémoire; Flusser concerning the dichotomy of dialogue and discourse, Sodré to establish how the communication process occurs, and Certeau, who helped us reflect on microbial practices. Methodologically, field observation and bibliographic review were employed.