Se milagres desejais

(If you Desire Miracles)
by André Costantin, Nivaldo Pereira
40’, Brasil, 2010

The Veneto emigrants that departed by the thousands for Brazil in the last centuries brought to South America their own language, traditions, and faith. From the high plains of the Lessinia and Asiago, and from the mountains of Belluno and Treviso to the territory of Antonio Prado, in the Rio Grande do Sul mountains, this long story of emigration has left  recognizable traces. Among these are the capitals, small sacred structures almost always located on the edges of the road, that hold crucifixes or statues of the Virgin Mary or of saints. From the Veneto to the other side of the ocean, one finds not only the same architectural structures, but also the same hopes, prayers, and desires for small, or large, miracles. These descendants of Veneto immigrants in Brazil tell their stories, sometimes in an antiquated, and by now stunted, dialect, and these are compared to those of the people who today live very comfortably in the Veneto mountains, once the land of emigrants. And we discover that ties  to traditions of the past can be strong, perhaps even stronger, down there than in the developed Italian northeast.

André Costantin, Nivaldo Pereira
André Costantin born in 1968, and with a degree in regional literature and cultures from the University of Caxias do Sul, has worked since 1996 as a director and documentarist, devoting his energies above all to the theme of the historical memory and culture of Brazil. Nivaldo Pereira was born in Bahia in 1963. He holds degrees in journalism and literature and works as a writer, journalist, screenwriter, and director of theatre and documentary films.