Is the Independence Bicentennial worth commemorating ?

Abstract

Starting with the great 19th century universal exhibitions, the article examines traditional approaches to the commemoration of national anniversaries. Inspired by Pierre Nora’s work on the “places of memory” (lieux de mémoire), it analyzes the tension between the intensification of commemorative passion and the growing critical contestation of past “heroes” and “glories”. It argues that Brazil’s Bicentennial should be celebrated in the spirit of the etymological root of ‘commemoration’, that is, to remember together. Commemorations should not turn to the past but try to take stock of what has been achieved and what needs to be done in the endless task of building a Nation.