ABSTRACT
Originally, quilombo is a community formed by African slaves who fled the Brazilian plantations in colonial times and took refuge in inaccessible places where they reproduced the community system of former African nations. The most famous Brazilian quilombo was Palmares, covering an area from south of Alagoas up north to the town of Cabo de Santo Agostinho in Pernambuco. After the assassination of its main leader, Zumbi dos Palmares in 1695, Palmares was dispersed. Small communities remained hidden and isolated for many years preserving their culture and traditions. After the emancipation of slaves in 1888, people from these communities started contacting small towns around them. Some settled around Mount Magano that today is part of the town of Garanhuns in Pernambuco. With the growth of Garanhuns, these communites were forced to move out of town and settle in different places in the countryside. One of these groups, Castaínho, has distinguished itself nationally and internationally in recent years, due to its history of resistance and struggle for human rights and landed property. In this contribution, we want to highlight and problematize the mobilization of this community in the struggle for their human rights, especially the rights to landholding and education.
