Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo, in Niterói, has a union to guarantee the future of transvestites, black and trans women

Credit: Disclosure

By: Renato Silva / Lupa do Bem – Favela em Pauta

The space is the result of the collective construction of three organizations: the Movimentos Xica Manicongo, which brings together transvestites and transsexuals from the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro; Quilombo Alagbara, a collective of African American women; and the Coletivo Transparente, which guides the conception of race, class and gender in art, and also intends to be a center for the rescue of Afro-Brazilian history and culture and of transvestite bodies.

The co-founder of Quilombo Alagbara and Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo (Urban Quilombo Xica Manicongo), Nathalia Carlos, emphasizes the importance of recognizing the struggle of quilombola peoples as something current, not as a history of the past, as is often studied in the opinion of the co-founder and social worker.

“The quilombos were reinventing themselves, gaining new formats of collective organization, to resist the whole new structure that we live in Brazil, they have a historical continuity”, analyzes Nathalia.

Nathalia also recalls that the territory where the Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo (Urban Quilombo Xica Manicongo) is organized today has this connection with local history. “The mansions here in the surroundings today are in the field of dispute with real estate speculation, but there are many communities that occupy these mansions, many in ruins, as a form of resistance, of struggle for housing and tipping. We also understand these occupations as quilombos. So, our intention here is to add to this quilombola struggle as well”, she comments.

An important part of finalizing the process of building the headquarters of Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo consists of the financing campaign “Erga um Quilombo”, organized through the profile on instagram and focusing on the new bank transfer tool, Pix.

The importance of the name Xica Manicongo for the quilombo

Fabíola da Silva, also co-founder of the urban quilombo, recalls that Xica Manicongo was the first transvestite found in the country’s history, who, when she was kidnapped from the African continent, maintained her resistance and today has her memory rescued by the organization.

“Xica, like all black women, doesn’t stop fighting and doesn’t stop putting these guidelines into play. I’m very happy to be that name, because we need to do this memory rescue”, adds Fabíola.

According to the column “Black transvestite is not a mess”, published by the Africa and Africanidades Magazine, by the researcher and professor of Portuguese language and introduction to Western art, Leandro Rodrigues da Silva, Xica Manicongo, who carried in her name the meaning given to the Congo governors, Mwene Kongo, then being Xica Senhora do Congo a good sense for her name and portrays personality traits.

“Manicongo was a black warrior who wore a cloth tied to the front like the quimbanda garments of her homeland… Matias Moreira, an Old Christian from Lisbon, did not like the way Xica dressed and walked the streets. More than once he ordered Manicongo to dress like a man and stop dressing like a woman. The transvestite did not comply with the order”, the text shows.

The quilombo as a safe place for exchange and healing

To talk about the need for a place that conveys security to the black and LGBTIAP+ population, Nathalia Carlos recalls that Niterói was identified as the Brazilian city that most segregates in general terms due to skin color.

This is confirmed by the panel published by the portal Qual Perfil and Nexo newspaper, which compares the national ranking of racial segregation in American and Brazilian cities and shows Niterói ahead of all others in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the IBGE.

The co-founder of the urban quilombo also says that segregation and violence against black bodies goes beyond the racial issue and also affects the LGBTIAP+ population, which reinforces the need for a safe space. 

“Unfortunately, Cantareira, despite this history of much resistance and culture, has also been marked by some episodes of LGBTIAP+ violence. We have some cases of transvestites who were raped in Cantareira, there is the case of a young dyke who was a victim of gang rape leaving there. So, we also understood the need for this safe place and for an exchange of welcome because here, despite the diversity, it has been the scene of violence”, recalls Nathalia.

Also co-founder of the urban quilombo, Yuvita da Silva, points to the importance of a place where it is possible to recharge the energies spent in everyday life with the discrimination placed in all other spaces. “We become stronger and manage to have that strength to walk in our daily lives, in our work, in our life. Even in the university, this space is denied, the university is a very white, very elitist space. Cantareira groups the community together, but it is still marked by this segregation”, adds Yuvita.

Quilombo organization in practice

The Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo (Urban Quilombo Xica Manicongo) is being built at this moment by those who already work in all these directions and will be divided into 3 distinct axes: the axis of history and memory, where partnerships with universities and research groups already exist, with the aim of rescuing history , Afro-Brazilian and diasporic culture as a whole.

 Also the axis of art and culture, which the founders think of as a healing point. Where they will receive events, artists, exhibitions, musical and theatrical performances, and all kinds of art possible.

And the policy and assistance axis, where the reception takes place, with therapeutic groups for the LGBTIAP+ community, also for transvestites and transsexual women, in addition to existing partnerships with the City Council’s Human Rights Commission and entities of the black movement, struggle for human rights to offer specialized legal advice in dealing with racist violence and against the LGBTIAP+ population.

Quilombo Urbano Xica Manicongo (Urban Quilombo Xica Manicongo) is now live on the internet, through its profile on Instagram and will also open the physical space on 10/29, Friday, at 2 pm, at Rua Alexandre Moura, 41, São Domingos neighbourhood, in Niterói.