1The relationship between tourism, culture and heritage has contributed for economic local development, especially in cities recognised by the Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN) as Brazilian cultural heritages and by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Valued for their aesthetic and stylistic characteristics, as well as for their symbolic and representational content, much of this cultural heritage is linked to historical facts, “selective memories, supposedly unique cultural traditions, and institutionally legitimised territorial identities” that contribute to increasing their attractiveness to tourists (Cifelli, 2015).
2Much of Brazil’s cultural heritage emphasises certain narratives linked to the exaltation of “illustrious” characters, the achievements of the wealthy, white, and Catholic Portuguese colonisers and Luso-Brazilian cultural references that hardly represent the ethnic and cultural diversity of Brazilian society, resulting from the cultural intermingling of Europeans, Amerindians, and Africans (Nogueira, 2008).
3Currently, the discourse and practice of tourism that predominates in heritage sites, such as the historical centres and older areas of Brazilian cities, has been criticised for the tendency of tour guides to exalt and reproduce dominant Eurocentric narratives by visiting buildings that express the traces of Portuguese colonial heritage.
4The development of tourism from a decolonial perspective aims to rethinking the dynamics of tourism by valuing and disseminating new ways of interpreting heritage. Such novel interpretations can promote an understanding of the role and relevance of culturally diverse social groups in the country's history. Moreover, it can be applied in the production of tangible and intangible cultural references from the perspective of those who are producing and experiencing these expressions.
5One of the forms of tourism that most closely relates to these purposes is Afrotourism. This type of tourism seeks to rescue, value, and preserve the history and cultural identity of Afro-descendants and foster Afro-entrepreneurship through the leading role of black people in organising and carrying out the activity (Neres, 2020, Teixeira, 2023). From this perspective, Afrotourism is a strategy to highlight and disseminate a decolonial approach to cultural heritage (Amaral, 2015, Chuva, 2020).
6The growth of Afrotourism has led to the creation of policies to promote the activity by the Instituto Brasileiro de Turismo (Embratur) at the national level, and by city-level councils, with the aim of better structuring this type of tourism in Brazilian city councils that are already important for tourism and heritage, such as Salvador (Bahia), São Luis (Maranhão) and Rio de Janeiro, all having a rich collection of heritage listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
7A key question addressed in this research is to understand how Afrotourism can reveal another dimension of these Brazilian Heritages from a decolonial narrative in the World Heritage Sites of Rio, Salvador, and São Luís. To achieve this objective, we present the main public policies at the national level aimed at promoting Afrotourism, and the main strategies driven by Afro-entrepreneurs to plan this activity in the three studied cities. to broaden our understanding of the differential aspects of this type of cultural tourism. This research also seeks to understand the specificities of the main tourist itineraries and services offered related to Afrotourism.
8Several qualitative methods were used to achieve the objectives of the research. A literature review was conducted on the concepts of decoloniality, decolonial heritage and Afrotourism. Additionally, secondary data were gathered on the IPHAN and UNESCO websites to understand the criteria and heritage values of the historical sites of Valongo, São Luís and Salvador that were taken into account for their recognition as World Heritage sites. A content analysis of each bid document for the candidature of those sites was also conducted to better understand the narratives constructed to legitimise their heritage value and to serve as resources for promoting tourism in these locations. Secondary data was also gathered on the websites of Embratur, the Ministry of Tourism (at the national level), and the city councils (at the local level) in order to identify and understand the public policy guidelines aimed at structuring the activity and clarifying the objectives and specific features of this type of tourism.
9To identify the already existing touristic itineraries and services related to the promotion of Afrotourism in Salvador, São Luís and Rio de Janeiro, data were gathered on the official websites of the three cities, specific digital platforms designed to promote Afro-culture and Afro-entrepreneurship, and on the official websites of the programs and projects being carried out to develop Afrotourism in each of them, such as Afrobiz Salvador; Instituto da Cor ao Caso (Maranhão) and Diaspora Black, Instituto dos Pretos Novos, Rio de Janeiro. These data enabled the identification and brief analysis of the types of Afro-centric itineraries, the kind of attractions visited and where they are located, the profile of the organisers and the role of Afro-entrepreneurs in fostering Afrotourism.
10The processes of heritagisation and touristification of Brazilian historic centres were predominantly based on the selection, valuation, and dissemination of historical remains and material expressions of culture that express the Portuguese colonial legacy and Brazilian Empire that can be identified in the centres of Salvador, São Luís and Rio de Janeiro, which are recognised as cultural heritages by IPHAN and UNESCO at national and international levels, respectively.
11It was intended to recognise Brazilian artistic and cultural production as heritage based on the assumptions of the history of universal art – European and Western (Chuva, 2020). This national heritage, legitimised by the state, expresses the project of colonial domination of territories and the role of oppressed populations such as Indigenous people and black people, considered by the colonisers as inferior races, deprived of freedom, and forced to carry out unpaid work. The colonialisation politics ratified the “codification of the differences between conquerors and conquered in the idea of race, that is, a supposedly distinct biological structure that placed some in a natural situation of inferiority in relation to others” (Quijano, 2005).
12The colonisers based their superiority not only in terms of political and military power over the conquered territories but also on a supposed biological and cultural superiority of the European colonisers that ideologically justified the exploitation and oppression of the colonised peoples subjected to the slavery regime, mainly black people.
13The critical analysis of colonialism and its legacies attested to the need for a break with Eurocentric colonial thinking, seeking new theoretical and epistemological approaches that promote a reinterpretation of the colonisation process. In the 1990s, this movement gained significance with the creation of the Latin American Group for Subaltern Studies (GLES), which, in addition to researching the effects of colonialism, started to promote a rereading of history and the colonial project from the perspective of colonised peoples or subalternised through a multiplicity of critical decolonial responses originating from the global south (Costa and Grosfoguel, 2016). These are not only new theoretical-epistemological approaches, but also a form of activism that involves historical reparation policies that value hidden historical narratives, silenced memories, and the multiple cultural identities of colonised peoples.
14Decolonial thinking came to underpin the strategies for recognition and safeguarding of heritage and and the development of tourism policies from the recognition and appreciation of intangible heritage with the publication of Decree 3551/2000, in 2000, which established the recognition and registration of intangible cultural assets.
15The valuation of intangible cultural references promotes the inclusion of multiple cultural identities in spaces already recognized as cultural heritages, such as the listed historic centres of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and São Luís. Added to this fact is the appreciation of popular knowledge with the recognition of new subjects of identification of the cultural value of tangible and intangible references as representatives of cultural groups marginalised and silenced by heritage preservation policies. To deal with heritage from a decolonial perspective means discussing the right to the memory of previously silenced subjects who “(re)connect broken stories and highlight the existence of other narratives about a good consecrated by a univocal reading” (Chuva, 2020).
16One of the types of tourism that supports these purposes is Afrotourism aiming at recovering the history, memory and cultural traditions of people of African descent.
17In Brazil, this type of tourism is practised in some cities that have a rich heritage, such as the Cais do Valongo Archaeological Site, in Rio de Janeiro, and the historic centres of Salvador (Bahia), and São Luís (Maranhão).
18The Cais do Valongo is recognised as a World Heritage precisely because it represents the memory of slavery and the contribution of black people to the cultural shaping and socioeconomic development of Brazil. The other two World Heritage sites, built by enslaved labour, bear witness to a Luso-Brazilian heritage expressed by their buildings representing two powerful institutions the Portuguese crown and the Catholic church in the colonial and imperial periods.
19Afrotourism can be understood as a new segment of tourism for which the segmentation of the tourism market is a means of organising and classifying tourism activity for planning, product development, marketing, and management purposes. Thus, a wide range of touristic products drawn by a range of segments are offered. “Every strategic action taken by the tourism industry as destination positioning, branding, media selection (online and offline medias), etc. revolves around the tourism segments” (UNWTO, 2024).
20The fastest-growing segment of tourism in the world is cultural tourism (UNWTO, 2024) which “comprises all tourist activities related to the experience of a set of significant elements of historical and cultural heritage and cultural events, valuing and promoting the material and immaterial assets of culture” (Brasil, 2006) and “and its main offering and attraction is some aspect of human culture” (Dias, 2006).
21Although there are a number of definitions of cultural tourism, one of the oldest and still in vogue is that of ICOMOS (1976), which defines cultural tourism as “that type of tourism whose main object is the knowledge of monuments and historical-artistic sites […]”.
22In light of the above, it is possible to affirm that the relationship between culture and tourism is based on two pillars: i) existence of people motivated to learn about different cultures; and ii) tourism as an instrument for cultural identity valuation, heritage preservation, and economic promotion of tangible and intangible cultural assets (Brasil, 2006).
23According to Fernández, Vaquero and Gonzáles (2013), “cultural tourism has acquired a significant role in tourism market over the last few decades, because of the expansion of the motivational framework for this type of tourism, the interest of public administrations and private institutions to the recovery and valorization of cultural heritage, and the broad possibilities for creating specific tourist products within the scope of culture”.
24Building on those definitions, Afrotourism is commonly understood as a strand of cultural tourism, since it is related to Afro culture and the memory, history and heritage of Africans and their descendants. It is “intersectional and can be carried out in urban and rural environments and with different perspectives on the History of Africa and Afro-Brazilian Culture, and may have a pedagogical, artistic, cultural, scientific, rural, community, gastronomic character” (Barbosa, 2023).
25The term Afrotourism is derived from the definition of ‘Ethnic Tourism’ definition, which, in turn, is a modality of Cultural Tourism, as indicated by the ‘Segmentation of Tourism’ methodology developed by the Ministry of Tourism, in 2006: “it consists of tourist activities involving the experience of authentic experiences and direct contact with the ways of life, identity and the tangible and intangible heritage of ethnic groups” (Brasil, 2006). Consequently, Afrotourism can also be classified as a sub-type of ‘ethnic tourism”. It may also use the ‘Ethnic-Afro tourism’ terminology, which is focused on the black community and their identity (Neres, 2020, Barbosa, 2021, Dias, 2023).
26Although this typology was published in 2006, the term Afrotourism started to be used with more frequency only in 2018 by several Brazilian entrepreneurs to qualify their activities, in this case, the commercialisation of “Afrocentric itineraries”, meaning the “offer of itineraries in which tourist experiences revolved around the Brazilian Afrodiasporic Culture and also the offer experiences in countries of the African continent” (Barbosa, 2021).
27Afrotourism involves not only visiting places related to Afro culture but also promoting business opportunities, which means, black people as professionals and entrepreneurs of the tourism industry, running their own businesses in the tourism market (as travel agency owners, tour guides, etc.)
28Afrotourism also embraces the visiting experiences of black people as tourists, but there is a huge lack of discussion on the invisibility of the black traveller and the gap at the intersection of tourism and racism, which should be addressed by scholars, policymakers, travel agents, tour guides, and other practitioners involved in this modality (Santos, 2018). Neres (2020) emphasizes: “When you visit, travel or move within spaces where there is a black protagonist, you are doing Afrotourism; when you see a black person traveling and having fun, this is Afrotourism”.
29Afrotourism is more than just a segment of the tourism market. It is “a movement that encompasses activities of rescue, appreciation, preservation, reconnection with identity and history through cultural, material and immaterial goods, which have black people as protagonists” (Teixeira, 2023).
30Revealing their heritage by a decolonial narrative is a chance for black people to tell their history. Shared by them when conducting Afrotourism, they become allowed to reveal some of the erased memories over the centuries, in an opportunity to reconstruct their narratives from their perspectives, strengthening their sense of belonging and place’s identity.
31Despite a growing number of Afrocentric touristic itineraries conducted by small travel agents and independent tour guides identified in recent years, there is a lack of literature review on Afrotourism, or ethnical tourism, and on the decolonial thinking towards tourism activities.
32Some gaps have been identified in the definitions of this type of tourism, and there is still no consensus on its nomenclature. Afrotourism has become a major issue on the public policy agenda at the national and municipal levels, supported by the growing number of grassroots initiatives and programmes.
33Tourists demand culture, history and contact with nature, as part of their imaginary of pleasure (Urry, 2019), and, therefore, the tourism industry holds cultural heritage as part of its main products, determining a direct relationship between both.
34The Brazilian tourism market has gone through several economic, social, and cultural changes over the 2000s, and, in recent years, has been presenting more specialized tourism market segmentation (Trigo and Panosso, 2009).
35Afrotourism has been gaining prominence both in national public policies and in the public’s demand. This can be attributed to the fact that more than half of Brazilians are black; Brazil has the largest black population outside of Africa and the second-largest black population in the world (Sousa, 2023); Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia (IBGE, 2023).Furthermore, since the new management of Embratur, in 2023, a more inclusive way of action was implemented, and encouraging strategies at the national level seek to give visibility to community-based tourism through the appreciation of cultural heritage and Afrotourism.
36Tânia Neres, head of the Coordination of Diversity, Afrotourism, and Indigenous Peoples at Embratur, attests that Afrotourism is one of the pillars of Embratur's current management, which seeks to showcase Brazil’s image that combats racism and seeks to strengthen Afro-entrepreneurship, promoting inclusion by generating jobs and income through tourism. “It is the story that history does not tell” (Neres, 2020).
37This is a relevant initiative as “although we are more than 50% of Brazilians, the memories of the black people are not usually on itineraries, in guides, or identified on official tourism signs and maps” (Sousa, 2023, Rodrigues, 2021).
38However, relevant initiatives prior to Embratur’s administration should not be ignored, such as the book The Island’s Drums by the Ministério da Cultura and the IPHAN, a study on Maranhão’s popular cultural manifestations (Ramassote, 2006). This book is a relevant theoretical basis for Afrotourism in the state of Maranhão (Trigo and Panosso, 2009). Also, in 2006, the government of Bahia launched its Ethnic Tourism program with an Afro cut; a group of historians from Minas Gerais started to conduct itineraries focusing on Black Culture in Ouro Preto, Tiradentes and Mariana cities; and the “Route of Freedom” was created to promote the rescue and the valuing of black culture in Brazil through the development of tourism in Vale do Paraiba, in the borders of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Barbosa, 2021) (Trigo and Panosso, 2009).
39More recently, Afrotourism actions conducted by Embratur were presented at the National Tourism Fair1 (2023). Embratur also published the first episode of the web series “Tourism Transforms”, a special edition of three episodes in which it presents the positive impact of Afrotourism2.
40Finally, a partnership between Embratur and IPHAN was signed3, in 2023, with the main aim of connecting international tourism with national heritage. Embratur’s president, Marcelo Freixo, attested that “this partnership will transform our Brazilian memory and heritage in tourist products, and we can work together to promote Afrotourism”. In the words of Leandro Grass, IPHAN’s president, “Our heritage is a tool for promoting tourism […]. Brazilian cultural matrices, especially the African matrix, can project Brazil to another place through this cultural tourism”.
41In light of some main policies related to the Afro-Brazilian culture discussed above it is possible to draw some potential actions to inform key stakeholders to foster better practices and initiatives on Afrotourism in Brazil considering the reconstruction of narratives and cultural identities from a decolonial perspective.
42Some potential actions can be related to: i) raise awareness on the relevance of Afrotourism: to conduct constant training of communities, tour guides, managers, social entrepreneurs, and stakeholders on topics such as racial literacy, decolonialism, cultural heritage management and based-community tourism; ii) cultural mapping: to develop a cultural mapping to acknowledge, trace, and place cultural assets related to the Afro-Brazilian culture in Brazil. The cultural mapping can inform better policies and help to design new itineraries, narratives, and services related to Afrotourism; iii) support and promotion: to promote communities, products, experiences and places of interest for Afrotourism, considering the diversity of opportunities and approaches in this segment; and iv) building partnerships: to build partnerships between actors, including government agencies, civil society organisations, Afro-centered entrepreneurs, etc., in order to promote Afrotourism.
43As the next section shows, some stakeholders in the studied cities have already driven some of those potential actions.
44The historical centre of Salvador was recognised by IPHAN as a national heritage site in 1959 and by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1985. The monumental architectural complex built between the 16th and 19th centuries, represents Portuguese overseas urbanism with its colonial baroque buildings built mainly between 1549 and 1763. This heritage is recognized due to its economic relevance as an important commercial centre, and to its port activity and proximity to economically dynamic areas, especially those destined for sugarcane production in the colonial period.
45Despite emphasising the city's architectural heritage and the aesthetic relevance of the landscape as important factors for the recognition of heritage value, intangible culture is also considered when attributing exceptional universal value to Salvador's historical centre. The cultural references of Afro-descendants are the most expressive among the cultural manifestations that are still evident in the city today.
46Between 1992 and 1999, the Program for the Recovery of the Historical Center of Salvador was implemented. It was linked to the political interests of reinforcing Bahia’s identity by valuing its cultural traditions and projecting Salvador as an important national tourist destination (Sant'Anna 2003, p. 46).
47The urban interventions that have taken place in the historical centre of Salvador reinforce the importance of the multicoloured architectural heritage as the main incentive for visiting the site. Most of the itineraries that involve a city tour of the historical centre include visits to the architectural complex of Pelourinho, Praça da Sé, Igreja de São Francisco de Assis, Catedral of Salvador and Terreiro de Jesus, Elevador Lacerda, Mercado Modelo, Praça Thomé de Souza and other buildings and places (Figure 1), which are considered important iconic elements in the urban landscape (Cifelli, 2015). Currently, some of these buildings are included in Afrotourism itineraries and are interpreted through Afro-centered narratives.
48In 2019, Salvador City Hall launched the Salvador Ethnic-Afro Tourism Plan, linked to the National Tourism Development Program (PRODETUR) and implemented by the city's Department of Culture and Tourism with the aim of valuing and disseminating other narratives related to the diversity of tangible and intangible expressions of Afro culture and those who have produced or are producing them.
49The plan was developed collectively, with the participation of Afrotourism professionals, tourism entrepreneurs, public managers, and opinion formers. In this way, it seeks to involve the black population in the conception, planning, organisation, and operation of tourist activities.
50In 2022, the Salvador Capital Afro project was implemented through a partnership between the Municipal Department of Culture and Tourism (Secult) and the Department of Reparations (Semur), with funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (BID). The project aims to strengthen Afro-ethnic tourism, or Afrotourism, by promoting “cultural, religious, artistic and economic activities, such as dance, art, literature, music, fashion, gastronomy and sport, highlighting the strength and expression of Afro-Brazilian culture present in the city” (Salvador, 2024).
51One of the initiatives of the Salvador Capital Afro project is Afrobiz Salvador, “an online marketplace platform for products and services from Afro-entrepreneurs in Salvador's tourism sector, aimed at strengthening the city's cultural and historical heritage, valuing its Afro-descendants, their trajectories and knowledge passed down between generations. It also aims to support the economic and technological development of Afro-ethnic tourism actors, including lodging facilities, tourism agencies and guides, artists, market vendors and street vendors” (AfroBiz, 2024).
52An analysis of the information on the platform shows that 13 tourism agencies run by Afro-entrepreneurs are registered. There are 27 tour guides and four tour operators registered who can offer itineraries linked to Afrotourism and 21 itineraries and experiences advertised, of which only 6 are directly related to Afrotourism, including guided tours of the historic centre with visits to spaces more directly related to Afro culture; routes to Candomblé terreiros, and Afro-Bahian percussion and Bahian cuisine workshops.
53The publication of the Guia de Roteiros Afro Salvador (2023) represents an important initiative for the dissemination of ten itineraries featuring tourist attractions in the historic centre and other districts of the city related to the historical and cultural references of Afro-descendants, focusing mainly on intangible heritage.
54One of the highlights is the “Griô Experience”. The name refers to “individuals in West Africa whose vocation is to preserve and transmit the stories, knowledge, songs and myths of their people” (Guia de Roteiros Afro de Salvador, 2024), and aims to address the role of the black population in Brazilian politics, visiting locations in the historic centre that have a history linked to this political dimension of black resistance against oppression and racism and the conquest of political rights, such as the Casa de Benin, the Sociedade Protetora dos Desvalidos and the Monumento a Zumbi.
55The use of digital platforms for tourism development has become increasingly frequent, including in the development of Afrotourism. One such initiative is the Diaspora Black platform, which offers accommodation and experiences for black people. In Salvador, the Afro Walking Tour (Figure 2), offers a guided tour of the historic center and its surroundings. With a “re-educational, decolonial and anti-racist approach, the tour is a walk-through history, pain, struggle and resistance so that we don't forget the trajectories of those who came before us and reinvented themselves in a new world” (Diaspora Black, 2024).
Figure 2: Advertising Campaign on Afrotourism in Salvador's Historic Center
Source: https://blogs.iadb.org, 2022
56Afro Estima, which also aims to promote Afrotourism in the city through professional training for Afro-entrepreneurs in Salvador, is another action linked to the Salvador Capital Afro project (Aloalo Bahia, 2024).
57The historical centre of São Luís has one of the most representative urban complexes of Portuguese colonial architecture in the country. Listed by IPHAN as a national heritage site in 1974, the historic centre has buildings of great historical and architectural value arranged “in homogeneous complexes left over from the 18th and 19th centuries, when the state of Maranhão played a economic decisive role, as one of the major exporters of rice, cotton and regional raw materials” (IPHAN, 2024).
58In 1997, the city's historical centre was recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, including 1.500 buildings of various architectural styles, with a predominance of 19th-century architecture and 17th-century urban layout (Andrès et al., 1998).
59The predominance of the architectural dimension in the valuation of monumental heritage, produced with enslaved labour, materialis es a system of social oppression, making the role and relevance of Afro-descendants invisible in the building of this heritage and in the narratives that justified its heritagisation. The city's period of economic decline during the 20th century resulted in the abandonment, degradation, and deterioration of the listed buildings in the historical centre and the stigmatisation of the social groups who lived there.
60This situation contrasted with the wealth of popular festivals and other cultural events that took place in the streets and alleys of the historical centre .
61In the 2000s, the streets of the historical centre started to have a more expressive tourist flow, but with a strong focus on visiting the architectural heritage as the most important attraction. It can be observed that, in general, the most popular attractions on the itineraries are the architectural buildings that represent the local elite, the expressions of political and religious power and the facts and events of the history officially consecrated by the preservation bodies. However, there is also an increase in the relevance of museums and cultural facilities that portray Afro history and culture, such as the Black Museum.
62Additionally, the city's tourism promotion campaigns demonstrate the interest of public authorities and market agents in promoting the popular festivals that take place in the historical centre and other regions of São Luís, such as Bumba Meu Boi, Tambor de Crioula, Tambor de Mina; and other intangible cultural references. It is in this context that the cultural references of Afro-descendants are expressed and stand out as tourist attractions.
63The development of Afrotourism itineraries also stands out in the capital of Maranhão. One of these initiatives has been developed by the Da Cor ao Caso Institute, a digital platform for racial literacy that has developed an “afro-referenced itinerary that essentially addresses the stories and memories of black people, building networks of partnerships with afro-entrepreneurs. The itineraries are developed in the capital, São Luís” (Instituto Da Cor ao Caso, 2024).
64The “Ancestral Path - historical center” (Figure 3) and "Ancestral Path Maria Firmina dos Reis" itineraries were developed in 2021, and feature, in an interactive way, the importance of prominent black figures who are neglected and made invisible in conventional historical narratives.
Figure 3: Promotional Material for the Ancestral Path Tour
Source: Diaspora Black (2024)
65The “Griot City Walk” is an itinerary that also takes place in the historical centre and portrays the slavery in São Luís, the relations of sociability in the city, the history of African and Afro-Brazilian characters and the legacy of black people to Maranhão's culture. The most prominent Afrotourism project in São Luis is the “Quilombo Cultural de São Luis” itinerary, which takes place in the quilombo of Liberdade, considered the largest urban quilombo in Latin America.
66Developed by the São Luis Municipal Department of Tourism in partnership with members of the community, the route was launched in 2022 and includes a tourist guide with information on the places to visit and cultural events. It is therefore an itinerary based on valuing black ancestry and the ethnic-cultural identity of quilombola communities (Roteiro Quilombo Cultural de São Luis, 2022).
67During the 16th and 19th centuries, Brazil was The country that received the most enslaved Africans in the Americas. During this period, the maritime ports of Rio and Salvador received about 10 million enslaved Africans. The Cais do Valongo (Figure 5) located in Rio’s port area, was the largest slave port in the Americas, where more than 700.000 enslaved black people had landed from Africa since the last decades of the 18th century until the end of 1830 (Florentino, 2015).
Figure 5: Cais do Valongo
Source: Author(s), 2017
68After their arrival, enslaved Africans were taken directly to the slave market on Valongo’s Street, located in the surroundings of the wharf, to be displayed as merchandise. In addition to the Cais do Valongo, this area still hosted the so-called “Cemetery of New Black”, a name given to newly arrived enslaved Africans. This cemetery, a piece of land with holes opened in the middle of the street, received about 30.000 black bodies, intended for those who arrived sick or even already dead from the long-distance travel without any sanitary conditions from Africa to Brazil. The area was also used as a garbage dump, which reveals the unworthy treatment given to enslaved Africans (Daflon, 2016; Florentino, 2015).
- 4 Led by Pereira Passos, mayor of Rio, this was one of the major urban renewals which transformed Rio (...)
69The arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family, in 1808, marked the city of Rio as the headquarters of the monarchy in Brazil, and the first great transformation of the city was due to the emergence of this new social class demanding new administrative, political, and ideological functions. The arrival of the Court made the population grow, which meant an increase in the number of slaves disembarking at Cais do Valongo. After the prohibition of the slave trade in Brazil in 1831 (although the abolition of slavery was to take place only half a century later), Cais do Valongo had its memory was buried twice in an attempt to erase the Brazilian slavery past: at first, it was transformed in the “Pier of the Empress”, for the arrival of the future wife of Dom Pedro II (1843); and then it was grounded in the hygienist Pereira Passos Reform4, at the beginning of the 20th century.
70The neighbourhoods of the port area harboured the Africans who came to seek in this area a sense of community and belonging, building their houses, religious centres , and convivial spaces. It is no coincidence that this area is still known as the "Little Africa".
71The archaeological remnants of the New Black Cemetery, the only slave graveyard in the Americas, were discovered by chance, in 1996, when a couple of residents were conducting a refurbishment in their house. Thousands of fragments of human bones were found along with traces of iron, ceramics, and glass (Figure 6). After many specialised studies, it was identified the existence of this important archaeological site (IPN, 2024). In 2005, in a private initiative, the owners’ house where the archaeological remains were detected founded the Institute of Research and Memory of the New Enslaved Africans (IPN), a non-profit institution, to preserve this Afro-Brazilian memory.
Figure 6: Archaeological remains
Source: IPN, 2017
72During the urban renewal of the port area, in 2010, the archaeological remains of the Cais do Valongo were ‘rediscovered’, along with other artefacts of African origin. On this occasion, the Rio City Council has transformed this site into an open monument to public visitation and has started to contribute financially to the maintenance of IPN. In 2011, Rio City Council and IPN, in a collaborative way, created the "Historic and Archaeological Circuit of the Celebration of the African Heritage". Composed of the main sites of the Afro-Brazilian heritage, such as Cais do Valongo and its surrounding area (Largo de São Francisco da Prainha, Pedra do Sal, Jardins Suspensos do Valongo, Centro Cultural José Bonifácio and Cemitério dos Pretos Novos), an Afro-centric touristic itinerary was created through "Little Africa” (Figure 7).
Figure 7: Historic and Archaeological Circuit of the Celebration of the African Heritage
Source: https://www.ccpar.rio/circuito-da-heranca-africana/
73In 2017, Cais do Valongo was recognized by UNESCO as the most important physical trace of the arrival of enslaved Africans on the American continent, and “to be directly associated with events and living traditions, ideas or beliefs, artistic or literary works of exceptional universal significance […]” (UNESCO, 2003).
74The urban renewal that took place in Rio’s port area, motivated by the Megaevents (World Cup and Olimpic Games), has modified the landscape, the uses, and functions of this space in a material and symbolic renewal. The area has consolidated itself as a new space for leisure and entertainment in Rio, promoting the development of Afrotourism in this renewal part of the city.
75To be able to operationalise the African Heritage Circuit, IPN established a partnership with the Rio City Council. Beyond the conduction of the Afro-centric touristic route, IPN has been conducting exhaustive work on the memory of the enslaved Africans in this area for almost two decades, through a range of free workshops discussing themes such as slavery, racism, memory, decoloniality, and the black cultural heritage of that area.
- 5 Grigio, Patricia. Enterview. [feb. 2022, online].
76Between 2016 and 2019, the African Heritage Circuit received more than 7.000 visitors. According to Grigio, a local tourist guide, the Circuit started to face some difficulties to be operationalised during its 4th season, in 20195, due to the lack of support from the Rio City Council.
77After the Olympics and the UNESCO nomination, little had been officially done to preserve this heritage. Local authorities withdrew financial support, and urban maintenance was restricted only to the main symbolic tourist areas of the city, while the Cais do Valongo struggled with a lack of conservation and safety.
78In a post-pandemic scenario (2022), Afrotourism started to recover and about 10 local tour guides conducted 50 students per-day and 200 tourists over the weekends. Afrotourism has been developing as an essential tool for the preservation of the Afro-Brazilian memory and this site, as seen in Figures 8 and 9.
Figure 8: Afrotourism in Cais do Valongo
Source: P. Grigio, 2022
Figure 9: Afrotourism in Pedra do Sal
Source: P. Grigio, 2022
79In addition to the IPN and local tour guides, there is a growing number of travel agencies, managed by young black people, who are planning and conducting Afrotourism in Cais do Valongo, such as Sou + Carioca, Bráfrika, Bitonga Travel, and Guia Negro.
80The local community plays a central role in Afrotourism and the challenging process of preservation of this important memory as it is part of the building process of the Brazilian people and our culture.
81Afrourism is an important vector to consolidate a decolonial narrative of identity and sense of belonging of the black community in Brazil. By presenting Afro-Brazilian heritage in a playful way and with high social impact and has the potential to be a transformative activity able to combat racism.
82Afrotourism is an in-depth and embracing experience and it should not be considered as a restricted niche/segment of tourism, but rather as a broad and intersectional approach aimed at preserving Afro-Brazilian heritage and the valorization of identity and memory. It also should play an important role in promoting Afro-centered enterprises throughout the touristic trade, highlighting black entrepreneurs with leading roles in local communities and in leadership positions in companies.
83Although some specific initiatives related to Afrotourism were taken before the Covid-19 pandemic, such as in Cais do Valongo, most of the routes related to it were developed in the post-pandemic period.
84Both by initiatives of the municipal government, as happened in the three municipalities studied, and by groups of Afro-entrepreneurs interested in spreading the history and traditions of people of African descent through tourism and promoting cultural and educational activities, or by groups of Afro-entrepreneurs interested in spreading the history and cultural traditions of Afro-descendants through tourism and the promotion of cultural and educational activities that expand the repertoire of knowledge and experiences related to places, people and cultural references of black people. Through digital platforms, information about routes, attractions and services related to Afrotourism is disseminated to those interested in this type of experience, promoting a connection between the organisers (freelance tour guides, agencies, and operators) and tourists.
85Not only private initiatives but also public policies and Afro-tourism projects linked to the federal government and municipal tourism departments have been successful in promoting the dissemination of new attractions and Afro-centric itineraries that take place both in and around heritage historical centres, highlighting and valuing new narratives about heritage, the riches of popular culture linked to references of African origin and the knowledge passed on by Afro-descendants themselves, who become the protagonists in valuing and disseminating their history and culture.
86As these are very recent initiatives, it is not yet possible to analyse their results in detail, but Afrotourism can be seen as a way of reinterpreting heritage, developing a critical sense of the colonisation process, valuing the historical narratives of colonis ed people, and understanding the importance of tangible and intangible culture of African origin in shaping the country's multicultural identity.
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