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Paper short abstract:

Cordel in Brazil presents itself as the original speech of the “sertanejo” and his stories. In this process of elaborating his narratives we perceive the values attributed to this place, the “sertão” (hinterland), and its antagonism with the coast and a supposed urban modernity.

Paper long abstract:

Since the nineteenth century, studies on the Cordel in Brazil point to a Portuguese origin, but we know that the "cordéis" in the present form is a genre created in Brazil, by Brazilians and in the northeast, especially in the backlands of Paraíba state. In these narratives, the first "cordelistas" pointed to an inhospitable backlands, but laden with idyllic images, heroism, characters who escaped the norms established by a desired modern society.

These discourses did not change much over the decades, and the "sertão" continued to be the place of brave men and workers who fought against a ruthless nature, against the drought that killed men and animals and destroys the dreams of the "sertanejos". In the face of these natural tragedies, which also allowed for the emergence of "cangaço", messianism and colonels, many men and women migrated to the coast and to the largest cities in the hinterland of Brazil, taking with them their "sertão", which had to dialogue with this new space so different from theirs.

In these dialogues, the city appears in the narratives, not only as an antagonist of the place left behind, but also as a space of hope and doubt. The city established itself as a new, real belonging that needed to be broken. It is precisely from "cordéis" (as a historical document) that we intend to understand how "cordelistas" described this "sertão" and the cities, as these narrators lived this path of discoveries and denials, belongings and antagonisms, desire and resignification.