Dying Professions

admin — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 15:14:38 +0000

A lone church and immaculately cared for cemetery stand among bovine skeletons, and a crumbling hotel structure. Tornados toss tumbleweed the dry expansive plane in the state of Ceara’s backcountry. Cocosi was once a thriving town, an anchor in an expanse of cow country, filled with cowboys, and their rich landowners. The town, which now resembles a wild western film was owned by the powerful Feitosa family, until a family feud left the houses and few businesses deserted. It now stands as a symbol of the degradation of Brazil’s Northeast which is going into it’s 5th year of severe drought, as Brazil as a whole faces near economic depression.

A combination of harsh weather conditions, advancement of technology and government subsidy has helped contribute to the extinction of some of the very unique and artisanal professions of this region of the country, professions that were born out of necessity and a mixture of cultures including Africans brought as slaves, Natives as well as various migrants, mainly European.

Nadia Shira Cohen & Paulo Siqueira set out to find those that are still hanging on to these professions or perhaps have been able to transform themselves in order to stay alive and continue to carry on the culture of Northeast. The project focuses on 10 professions from midwifes to artisanal salt miners, iron workers and bush cowboys, the story explores the history of the professions and their relationship with the building of the Northeast of Brazil as well as their contribution to it’s cultural richness.

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Dying Professions