Of the 7.113 quilombolas living in Paraná, according to data from the 2022 Census recently released by IBGE, 22 are remnants of the Quilombola Negra Apepú Community, located in São Miguel do Iguaçu, next to the Iguaçu National Park.
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In the Vidas do Iguaçu segment, guide and environmentalist Francisco Amarilla talks to Beto Corrêa, great-grandson of João Corrêa da Cruz, founder of the quilombo. “When he arrived here, Foz do Iguaçu only had one house and one bar, which belonged to the Holler family,” he says.
Beto reports that the group was only officially recognized as a quilombo in 2004 and today it is made up of 12 families, who work to preserve their roots and traditions, while also trying to keep up with the evolution of technology. Since then, the community, which established an association, has managed to achieve some improvements, including six houses; a shed, through agreements with Itaipu and the city government; an artesian well and internet access.
On this journey through history, Beto shows the local church, built at the time for the community to pray novenas and celebrate the traditional Saint John's Day festivities, on the turn of June 23rd to 24th. He also explains the origin of the community's name: “Apepú was a sour orange, quite common in the region. The fruit was used to make perfume. In addition, the hard skin was removed and washed for seven days to make a sweet treat.”
Check out the full video:
