Arturos

The Arturos are descendants of the community founded by Artur Camilo Silvério and his wife, Carmelinda Maria da Silva, both children of enslaved people—a story that began over a century ago in 1885, the year of the patriarch's birth and four years before the abolition of slavery in Brazil. Artur and Carmelinda bought the land in Contagem, and today, around 230 families make up the sixth generation of African peoples who arrived in the region and settled on Artur’s land.

The community is known for its rich cultural and religious traditions, particularly the Congado, an Afro-Brazilian religious celebration marked by drums, costumes, and dazzling performances.

One of the Arturos’ commitments is to ensure that the dark past of slavery is never forgotten, while keeping ancestral traditions and memories intact. Every year, on the Sunday closest to May 13—the date of the signing of the Lei Áurea (Golden Law, which abolished slavery in Brazil)—the community reenacts the suffering and pays tribute to their enslaved ancestors.

Ricardo Teles

Ricardo Teles is a freelance photographer born in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil. He has been working in Sao Paulo since 1994 as a photojournalist who contributed to the Estado de Sao Paulo Group, agency and newspapers, from 1996 to 2000.

Today, as a freelance photographer, his work has been published in several national and international magazines, such as Der Spiegel (Germany) and National Geographic Brazil.

The photographer is a member of the Focus Agency in Germany for which he has covered several stories in Latin America.

Published books include: Saga–A Portrait of German Settlements in Brazil (1998), which received the Martius Staden Award and the Terras de Preto – stories of nine rural afro communities in Brazil (2004), that received the Ayrton Senna Human Rights Prize of Journalism.

In 2014, the project “Road of Grains” received the Sony Award in the Travel category and in 2015, the POY LATAM (Picture of the year Latin America), and third prize in the Foods of the World category.