Politics Around the Dining Table: Brazil, 1881 to 1928
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Dublin Gastronomy Symposium 2020 – Food and Disruption Politics Around the Dining Table: Brazil, 1881 to 1928 Eliane Morelli Abrahão Group eating has long been associated with ritual ceremonies business deals, inaugurations, honour distinguished of the life cycle. ‘Food and Disruption: What shall we eat figures, often with orchestras, and exercise eloquence tomorrow?’ It is an interesting theme when we look back to (Borrego and Abrahão, 2019). forms of dining, specifically to the use of the dining table This presentation considers the menu collections as a space and instrument for the construction of the idea gathered by politicians such as former presidents, governors of progress and national identity. Self-definition occurs in a and senators, among them: Washington Luis Pereira de specific space and time, in this case, Brazil between 1889 Souza (1926–1930), Francisco Pereira Passos (1902–1906) and 1930. and Rui Barbosa de Oliveira (1890–1893, 1902–1909 and Formal meals have become an interest of mine since I 1915–1921). Based on archives, photo albums and started studying the relations between house spaces and newspapers, I explore how eating practices in a given time guest-hosting, through the analysis of furniture and objects and space enable us to understand a complex and linked to food consumption. The lists of formal meals, multifaceted network experience and social enhancement. oftentimes loose and hidden in the archives’ documentation, allow us to bring to light important features of the feeding practices in a specific historical period. Dating back from The Menus Collections the second half of the 19th century to the first decades of It is important to first identify the main characters as well the 20th century in Brazil, these documents reveal not only as the menu collections to understand the practices and what the guests ate, but also important aspects of the formation political scenery of Brazil. The country was experiencing of a political network and sociability in practice in the the transition between the final years of the monarchy and Republican Brazil. Within this paper, I intend to explore the first decades of the republic. the feeding habits and social representation around food. Three men participated in political actions to initiate From the theoretical-methodological point of view, urban changes, road and rail infrastructure and foreign material and visual culture are explanatory categories for policy. By their actions, each of them left their mark on apprehending relations and social representation around Brazilian politics as well as created their own relationships. food (Lima and Carvalho, 1997). Although previously the Francisco Pereira Passos’ menu collection is preserved by culinary manuscripts, cookbooks and menus went the Republic Museum housed in the Catete Palace, Rio de unnoticed by historians, for some time now this Janeiro. It is composed of seventy-two documents, documentation has served as a primary source of research thirty-two of which are formal meals dating from 14 May within the field of cultural history. 1881 to 6 September 1911. The other forty documents Historically, it is clear that food is closely related with cover his period in office as mayor of Rio de Janeiro, and power and social positions. Since Antiquity, formal meals date from 10 July 1902 to 13 November 1906. There are have involved rituals, hierarchies and spectacle. also two photos of banquets. Transformations in the manners of eating have been The engineer Francisco Pereira Passos was born in the ongoing for centuries. However, in the 17th and 18th city of São João Marcos, Rio de Janeiro, on 29 August centuries, behaviour towards eating changed, and the 1836. Most of his career as an engineer in the nineteenth monumental kitchen of the courts gave way to simplicity, century was in the public sector, where he held key or as one might say: eating with elegance, ‘the eyes deposing positions, most notably in Brazilian engineering between the nose’ and ratio convivialis (Camporesi, 1996, p.13). The 1874 and 1880. act of eating together is considered a performance through As mayor of Rio de Janeiro between 1902 and 1906, which we demonstrate discernment and distinction, Pereira Passos’ time in office was marked by remodelling including where, what, and how we eat (Bourdieu, 2007; and sanitation work on the city, both of which altered the Strong, 2004). urban landscape considerably. He was known as ‘bota The French model for behaviour and appearance was abaixo’ (which translates into saying that he imploded the assimilated in Brazil in 1808, with the arrival of the city and rebuilt it) so big were the changes implemented in Imperial Family. It is from this perspective that I discuss the city centre of Rio de Janeiro. He died on 1 March 1913. the ceremonial lunches and dinners offered to politicians Another important person was Rui Barbosa de Oliveira, and other guests. Most public social events linked to the a lawyer, journalist, jurist, politician, diplomat, essayist and political history of Brazil lead us to conjecture about the speaker. He was born in Salvador, Bahia, on 5 November role of ceremonial meals to seal political alliances, close 1849. He was a deputy during the Second Empire, and 2 Politics Around the Dining Table: Brazil, 1881 to 1928 Finance Minister during Deodoro da Fonseca’s government (1889–1891). As senator for Bahia, he played an important role in the Congressional declaration of the Constitution which took place on 24 February 1891. In 1905, he put his name forward as a potential candidate for President of the Republic, but withdrew his candidacy in favour of Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena, elected in 1906. Two years later, Rui Barbosa participated as head of the Brazilian delegation at the Second Peace Conference held in The Hague, Netherlands from 15 June to 19 October 1907. In 1929, he ran as a candidate for the presidency of the Republic. During the campaign, Rui Barbosa visited several cities where he was honoured and welcomed by friends, coreligionists and admirers at lunches and banquets. He was an important figure and was internationally recognized. He died on 10 March 1923. The menu collection is composed of ninety-three menus divided into two series. The first series contains documents from when he participated in the Second Hague Convention dated from 24 May 1907 to 28 December 1907. The second consists of twenty-six menus relating to other formal meals dated from 11 February 1890 to 6 February 1920. The Collection Washington Luís Pereira de Souza is kept in the Republican Museum ‘Convenção de Itu’ at the University of São Paulo. It constitutes fifty-six menus, dated from 28 December 1880 to 25 August 1928, and several photos which portray gatherings around the table such as luncheons, dinners and banquets. Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa was born in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, on 26 October 1869. A competent and charismatic lawyer, he quickly ascended to political positions, starting as a municipal councillor in Batatais in 1895. This small city is located in the northwest of São Paulo, in the region known as ‘Alta Mogiana’, a relevant coffee producer region in the state. Determined advocate of Figure 1. This menu features the depiction of coffee branches as a municipal autonomy, he promoted strategic actions for the representation of a symbol of Brazilian culture. Coffee was the development of this small city, which demanded improvements main Brazilian product and was exported worldwide. Source: in the areas of public education and the sewage system. Alves Filho. Menu (s.d). Following this, Washington Luís was appointed Secretary of Justice of São Paulo for two terms. He was mayor of São documents are important means by which to study aspects Paulo and subsequently, governor of the same state. He of the feeding practices between components such as the became a senator in 1925 and President of the Republic the feast date, place, type of celebration, food and guests. following year (1926). However, he did not complete his I will investigate three menus collections (totalling 150 term in office, and in 1930 was removed from power by documents) which are related to political moments. The Getúlio Vargas a few days before the end of his mandate. reasons why Washington Luís Pereira de Souza, Francisco Washington Luís was known as ‘o paulista de Macaé’, Pereira Passos and Rui Barbosa de Oliveira amongst others, which means that he was born in Rio de Janeiro but was kept the menus is not known. Nonetheless, it was not rare considered a citizen of São Paulo. He became known for during that period for guests including D. Pedro II, the slogan ‘Governar é construir estradas’ (‘To govern is to Emperor of Brazil, to preserve such documents, perhaps build roads). given their decorative nature or simply as a souvenir of an important social occasion. As Luce Giard said (2000, p.287) it is possible to Menus: research sources and possible analysis categorise actions and objects through the lexicon of The use of menus emerged in Europe and the Americas culinary recipes. I followed Giard’s concept to analyse the from the mid 19th century, not only in restaurants but also menus. Firstly, I retrieved the material used in the at official banquets served in public or private venues. These composition of the document, i.e. the format, print or Politics Around the Dining Table: Brazil, 1881 to 1928 3 countryside, the menus were composed in Portuguese and included regional ingredients and local dishes. A good example of this is when Washington Luís visited Jacareí, one hundred kilometers from São Paulo. The menu was inspired by local dishes or as commonly known: ‘caipira’ food. The term ‘caipira’ can be translated into ‘bumpkin’ and is used to refer to people who live in rural areas in the countryside of São Paulo.