Extra-Territories is a project about the history of the Portuguese ex-colony of Mazagão and the Festas de São Tiago. The festivity celebrates the Moorish failed attempt to conquer Mazagão, Morocco, in 1769, prior to the order of the Marquês de Pombal to evacuate the territory in 1770 and to settle the colony in Brazil.
Extra-Territories also intends to foster a discussion on the hegemony of Christianity, celebrated during the Festas de São Tiago, by contrasting the event with the festivities of the black and indigenous communities of Marabaixo and Sairé. Thus, Extra-Territories is a reflection on neo-colonialism, the supremacy of the Christian religiosity, and the subjectification of Amerindian identities (Viveiros de Castro, E. Exchanging Perspectives: The Transformation of Objects into Subjects in Amerindian Ontologies, 2004).
This proposal is socially, culturally, and historically relevant. Firstly, the danger of alt-right manifestations is a symptom of neo-colonialism. Hence, Extra-Territories uses a poetic counter-narrative to subvert aesthetics, symbols and concepts at stake during the 3 festivities previously mentioned. Migration, as a symptom of globalisation, is another focus of the project. What does it mean to be a migrant today as opposed to 1770? Lastly, what do we know about Mazagão, the Moors, and the population that first arrived in Brazil?
Victor Leguy will produce a performance using a community-based archive of video and audio recordings, photographs, documents, and objects, by resorting to storytelling and interviewing techniques in the field. The findings will be organised on an online platform. The result of Extra-Territories is relevant because of the importance of the cultural manifestations produced by the Other as a (neo)colonial subject (Spivak, G. Can the Subaltern Speak?, 1988), and because it constructs an archive of memories and affections and researches the perception of power narratives in the local community of Mazagão, Brazil.