Interviews:
Abrahim Baze - Historian

Time: 07'45"

- Intro - with opening track

- short soundtrack

- Abrahim Baze – Historian
"Of course we experienced the Ribeira ramp, which was right next to the Metropolitan Cathedral. The land went all the way to the riverbank and we didn't have a port, so these large ships from Europe would come and the crossing of passengers and goods would be done by large catraias (sailing boats) that were, at that time, operated by a few very important men, Portuguese, and these Portuguese were the largest number of catraieiros. Of course, that was an improvised event, but over time, with the need for modernity and the arrival of the English, people started thinking about the port in 1900, and it was a project that took a certain amount of time to complete, and the English then created what we call Rodley, the Port of Manaus, and which naturally had its glamour and its special moment.

With the construction of the port, which was inaugurated in 1910, we began to experience special moments in the life of a city that had no cinema, no radio, just one or two newspapers. The port was the glamour of Sundays, with mass at the main church, breakfast at the Adolfo Lisboa market, and then most of the population would head to the port because there were rowing competitions. That was Sunday morning for that population.

Of course, from then on, the port, even though it was still on the Ribeira ramp, had an important economic life, because all the ships that came from Europe docked there. And we began to receive a very large number of large-scale ships, which brought everything from Europe, foodstuffs, clothing. The city of Manaus was a city made for an elite, with fine shops, with displays of clothes that came from France.

All of this was transported by ship; we had not yet thought about airplanes. So the port was a reference, it was glamour. The glamour that was lost.

Why did it lose it? Because from the moment this modernity arrived, the port was mutilated. All those cranes, those trains that the population got off on one side and got on on the other, and the center had some tracks where the little trains were, which were pulled by an electric motor, which was right in front of the port. This house still exists there.

That's where the engine room was, which pulled and carried those little trains that brought the merchandise. The port never lost its economy, it never stopped being a reference in the context of the economy. One of the losses that I classify as a historian of utmost importance was the fact that those warehouses were large, important, and the most important of them was warehouse 10, which was right next to the port.

It could have been transformed into a high-quality tourist environment, that was the entrance to the city, and we lost this heritage that today practically only exists as a facade. But, with a very important effort, I would even say a supernatural effort, we are starting to think about recovering that space that had its economic importance and continues to have it. And from now on, with the idea of ​​restoring and recovering part of that heritage, I believe that we are beginning to take an important step towards the state's economy.

In particular, leisure, tourism, and the port continue to make their economic contribution. Of course, the damage was extensive, and that area lost its character, because if you walk there, you will see people selling tickets on the sidewalk, selling tickets to visit certain important areas of the city, on the sidewalk, vendors with small tables, barbecue stalls, small clothing vendors, and so on, what we call street vendors. I think that there should be a concern to open up that space so that tourists can move around, come and go without being bothered by people selling something.

Another thing that I think also harmed that space was the opening of buses, getting off there, that is, leaving, passing in front of the port. Nowadays, economically, it is difficult to drive there. So, there will be many things, many measures will have to be taken so that the port can truly be a pleasant tourist space and, above all, return to the city what belongs to the city.

But the economy continues to thrive, and will continue to thrive, because we do not have another important port. Of course, we are not a port that receives goods from abroad, like private ports with large containers. No, we are a different port and I hope that we can soon inaugurate that space with the dignity that it once had in the not-so-distant past."

- Final soundtrack

Technical details:
Johnathann Klismann - executive producer
Alexandre Almeida - post-production and finishing

Production
Amazon Agency