The Portuguese Language Museum in São Paulo, Brazil

01 Nov, 2013

Read in English below | Leia em Português aqui

By Celeste Gattai ( Language Republic)

I spent many years of my adult life studying and working at various places scattered in the centre of São Paulo. It is the kind of place that most people either love or hate. It can be quite an intimidating area for tourists to visit and it is not uncommon to find tips on tourist guides as to how to avoid becoming an easy target for thieves there. You can see on its streets all the common problems associated with ill administered, and out-of-control urban development: chaotic traffic, criminality, unregulated housing, homelessness, etc. For many years now, a succession of different municipal governments has been trying to tackle these problems and to regenerate the city centre. For instance, since 2005 São Paulo hosts the Virada Cultural : a 24h cultural marathon when a variety of concerts, plays and exhibitions are staged, among other places, in some of the iconic city centre locations such as the Vale do Anhangabau, and the Praça da República which, undoubtedly, is helping change people’s perception of the area. Most recently, there has been a huge effort to eradicate drug dealing and consumption in what has become to be known as the   “cracolândia” , or the land of crack cocaine, which is situated near the Estação da Luz railway station.

Despite its many problems and contradictions, São Paulo city centre is full of history, and has many architectural gems that are part of our cultural heritage and well worth a visit. One such example is the very area I have just mentioned above: the Jardim da Luz and the neighbouring Júlio Prestes square and railway station, which now houses one of the most beautiful concert halls in the country, the Sala São Paulo . Just round the corner from there, we find the elegant Pinacoteca do Estado , one of Brazil’s most important art museums, and more to the point of this article, the Museu da Língua Portuguesa , or the  Portuguese Language Museum . One of its kind, the museum was opened in 2006 and is part of the old Estação da Luz railway station buildings, which went through extensive restoration and renovation in order to accommodate it.

Unlike other museum artefacts, a people’s language is part of what is called non-material  cultural heritage that is, “something considered to be a part of heritage that is not a physical object or place, such as a memory, a tradition or a cultural practice, as opposed to tangible heritage”  . In August 2000 a governmental decree “instituted the registration of cultural goods of a non-material nature that constitute part of the Brazilian cultural heritage, and created the National non-material Heritage Programme , making it possible for the effective administrative protection of cultural goods relating to the identity and actions of social groups”. Therefore, the Portuguese Language Museum’s contribution for the development of innovative and specific ways in which to document, display and maintain one of our national intangible heritages could not have been more timely.

by Culturart, 2011

The Museum’s main objectives are:

− To show language as a fundamental and founding element of our culture
− To celebrate and value the Portuguese language, by presenting its origins, history, and the influences it received
− To bring Portuguese speaking citizens close to their language and to show them that they are its legitimate owners and modifying agents
− To value Brazilian cultural diversity
− To facilitate a dialogue between the various Portuguese speaking countries
− To promote courses, lectures and seminars on Portuguese language and related themes
− To organize temporary exhibitions about the Portuguese language and its various correlated areas of study

The exhibitions spread over three floors. The first floor is dedicated to temporary exhibitions and educational projects. Past temporary exhibitions focused on the work and lives of authors such as Machado de Assis, Fernando Pessoa, Oswald de Andrade, Cora Coralina and Rubem Braga, among many others. This year the museum is celebrating the life of singer and songwriter Cazuza who died in 1990 at the age of 32. His song lyrics reflect a still relevant critical view of Brazil and its society. Interestingly, this is the first time that the museum is showcasing a body of work that is not directly related to literature.

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On the second floor we find 6 thematic spaces where visitors can explore the history of the Portuguese language through a series of multi-sensory displays and hands-on activities. The use of technology and multi-sensory approaches is indeed a prominent feature of the museum. Even in the lifts you can hear sounds and watch images relating to the  Portuguese language! Finally, on the third floor you can watch a short film on the origins of the Portuguese spoken in Brazil, and visit the Praça da Língua, or language square, which displays an anthology of the literature produced in Portuguese. Luckily, a series of itinerant exhibitions enable people living in other Brazilian cities to also enjoy the wonderful work being produced by the museum in São Paulo. With so many interesting things to see and do, we hope that you can spare some time to visit the city Centre and the Portuguese Language Museum next time you are in São Paulo!

References: “What is heritage?” Decreto número 3.551(August 2000) IPHAN – Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional Conceitos Gerais: Patrimônio Imaterial 

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