A farmer finds a gold nugget at the south of Pará
Gold diggers invade the farm
40 thousand men dig the hill, turning it into a crater called “Serra Pelada”
VARELA IN SERRA PELADA – PART 1
Wait, where’s my tie?
No, no, wait… Hello there, dear Abril Video spectators,
once again with you,
your reporter Ernesto Varela.
It’s 6:30 am and I’m at the Serra Pelada gold mine.
The diggers are already coming to work
to find gold that, as you may know,
is the number 79, yellowish, ductile,
little reactive element, used in precious alloys.
Let’s go there to check how they find the gold, let’s go.
Here, near the mine, a curious, sterile and temporary city
was formed, and it’s inhabited by 40 thousand men.
They form small groups or families
and built their wooden shacks across the hill.
Therefore forming this chaotic urban area.
As you can see, the city’s got approximately the size of Disneyland! This is the main square in this city inhabited by men. That’s it, dear spectators, there are no women in here, nor children or elders. Here you can clearly see the importance of women. The streets are really filthy, there are no plants around, no trees, no flowers, there’s only dirt all over… I also would like to apologize, dear spectators, for not wearing a tie today. The thing is Waldecy forgot to bring my little suitcase and it was left in Belém do Pará. Let’s see if I can buy a tie somewhere in here. Let’s go, Waldecy! Bamburrados’ store, let’s see what one can buy in here. We have jewels, watches and cigarettes in here, look, cheap cigarettes… Do you have any ties to sell in here? We don’t sell ties in here, because no one… I have no tie, let’s keep… Thanks.
Do you know somewhere where I could buy a tie around here?
– No, I don’t. – I’ll take a look around, then. Let’s go.
I finally found a tailor’s,
let’s see if I find a tie.
Hey, buddy! Do you have any ties, sir?
I don’t have any.
– You don’t. – Nope.
Well, Waldecy forgot my tie in Belém do Pará
and I’m looking for a new one.
What kind of clothes do you make here in Serra Pelada, sir?
Pants, shirts.
You only wear nice clothes out of the mine, to take a walk around?
Yeah, anything you wear around here is fine.
– Is it? – It is.
You don’t have to dress well around here, do you?
No, you don’t. Just look at the “melechetes” in the street.
“Melechete”? What is a “melechete”?
Don’t you see them?
Melechete is someone who’s covered in mud,
poorly dressed, you know? – That’s it.
Come here, Waldecy, let’s check Serra Pelada’s
barber shop, what hairstyle is in fashion around here
in Serra Pelada.
How much is for a cut here in Serra Pelada?
10 thousand.
And what’s the most popular hairdo
among population in here?
There’s the new wave…
– New wave? – Yeah, the new wave is in fashion, you know.
People here in Serra Pelada like to do
the new wave hairstyle? – They like it a lot. A lot.
Are you doing the new wave n there?
– The new what? – Are you doing the new wave hairstyle?
No, I’m having a perm.
– Oh, you’re having a perm. – Yep.
Are you concerned with your looks,
about looking good here in Serra Pelada?
– No, I don’t. – Don’t you?
No. We do some stuff, but the thing is
you don’t need much around here.
Is it because there’s not much women around?
Yeah, when you go to the big town, you take a shower,
you dress well… – You try to look good.
– Alright then.
You look inelegant around here!
Don’t you try to dress well?
No? You don’t have to dress well?
– No, we don’t. – This is not the style in here,
we have our own style. – Is this Serra Pelada’s style?
– Yeah, this is Serra Pelada’s way. – The gold digger style!
Fashion in Serra Pelada is about a dirty pair of shoes…
Exactly.
A pair of pants…
And a t-shirt!
We also wear the boroca in here.
Oh, look, in Serra Pelada it is fashionable
to wear a boroca, which is this little purse
hanging in there.
Where did you buy this boroca?
– Right there, ate the Peladão’s. – Peladão’s?
– Yep. – Do they have ties at Peladão’s?
No, they don’t.
Ties? We don’t wear ties around here.
– I do, boy! – No, no one wears that in here.
In a city inhabited by men only,
it’s normal to exist some trade fairs.
This city’s trade fair
happens in this corner right here.
– You’re trading… – A necklace.
– A necklace for what? – For a watch.
– A watch. Do you have the watch? – Yes, the watch.
– What’s the necklace, let me see it. – There it is.
This necklace for that watch. Are you trading it?
I am.
– Are you trading it too? – Yes, I am.
What’s that? A steak for a…
A camera!
Half a kilo of chicken for eight people,
this is not fair.
– Are you all broke? – Everyone’s broke!
Can’t you find some gold?
What gold?! It’s too hard to find it!
Gold is the thing, but it’s not for any digger, you know.
What’s the most precious thing you ever found
here in Serra Pelada?
Just a really intense pneumonia!
It’s 6:45 am now
and those oxen look sad because they’re about to die.
Adriano, how many oxen do you kill
in daily basis here in the mine?
We kill about 30 oxen every day.
– To feed how many people? – Over 40 thousand.
As you see, Serra Pelada gold mine’s fuel
is meat. And you, dear vegetarian spectator,
you can now look to the screen again.
The city’s entrances and exits
are controlled by the Federal Police.
There are only two ways to get here:
through the airport or through the bus station.
These are Serra Pelada bus station’s buses,
look, here.
The bus lines are Serra Pelada–Divinópolis,
Curionópolis, Açainópolis and Divinópolis.
– Are you leaving? – Yeah!
– Didn’t it work well? – Nope!
– You didn’t find any gold? – Nope!
– Did you look for it a lot? – I did.
How many kilos did you carry in there everyday?
Oh boy, I used to carry… 20 soil shovels a day.
And you couldn’t find a single gold nugget?
Not even one!
– Really? – Yeah.
– Maybe you didn’t look much for it. – It’s not that…
– Where are you going to? – Pindaré!
– Pindaré? – Yeah!
– Have a nice trip! – Bye!
He almost lost his bus – look there, the buses, Waldecy!
The buses are leaving with the broke diggers
who didn’t find any gold!
Bye, buddy!
There’re too many disillusioned Brazilians
leaving Serra Pelada everyday,
so many other deluded Brazilian
may arrive right in the next day
so they can get an authorization card as a digger.
To get an authorization as a gold digger you need:
Three 3X4 cm photographs, CPF, CIC and the Id.
What time did you arrive in line?
– It was around 8:30 am. – Of yesterday, you mean?
– Yes, of yesterday. – To get your authorization card…
– To get my card today. – Alright. Congratulations, congratulations.
There’s a 24 hours line here in Serra Pelada,
dear spectators,
and you’re complaining about the INPS’ line in there!
There’re more lines! A line to get a CPF, to make a phone call,
a line to the syndicate, a line to the cooperative,
a line to sell gold. And a line to cure yourself of malaria.
This is Serra Pelada’s post office building.
Hey buddy! What are you looking for in here?
– A letter. – If a letter arrived?
– Did you find your name in there? – Not at all,
she wants me to die in here!
– Whose letter you’re waiting for? – Huh?
– Whose? – My wife’s.
– She didn’t write anything? – Not yet.
– She didn’t? – No, she wants me dead. I’m here for six months now,
and she didn’t write anything.
– Where does she live? – In Belém.
– And did you wrote to her? – I did.
– Do you miss her? – I do, a lot, especially in this awful situation.
Why do you think she didn’t write anything?
Maybe her letter didn’t get here in Serra Pelada…
It’s because I didn’t send any money,
she might be angry. That’s why.
– Do you think she left you? – I don’t know…
You came here for the gold, did you find some at least?
Not a nugget.
All these gold diggers gather in the evening
here in Serra Pelada to see the line-up
of the fearless hope platoon,
where Brazilians full of patriotic spirit
show how the true Brazilian soul look like.
You must wondering
“why does Varela just don’t show any gold”. Well,
I’ll only give you some gold next week
in the second part of our report,
Brazil’s Conquest of the West.
– No, it’s a conquest of the North. – Yes, I mean,
you mean a conquest of the west.
– It’s the north. – I know. But “west” is way cooler.
– It’s the north. – “West” is more exciting…