Entre o Caribe e a Amazônia: haitianos em Manaus e os desafios da inserção sociocultural

Abstract

The arrival of the first Haitians to the city of Manaus in 2010 was initially considered to be a transitory event. It was expected that this population would be largely transient in Manaus, since the Brazil of "opportunities" of which they had heard was more to the southeast and south. This initial perception seems to have been confirmed in part, since, according to the Pastoral Care of Migrants, of the more than eight thousand Haitians who passed through Manaus, about a thousand remained in the city. With regard to those who chose to stay, it is important to ask what were the reasons for their "choice" and how the process of socio-cultural insertion has gone. Considering the briefness of the Haitian presence in Manaus and the socioeconomic challenges they face, this article raises some hypotheses about the possibilities for cultural exchanges between Haitians and Brazilians, especially in the religious and musical contexts.