From zungu to angu: provocative suggestions about the memory of angu in Largo da Prainha, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

Abstract

By definition, angu is a porridge made with corn meal and water, and it is a widespread preparation among the culinaries from the African continent’s West Coast. It’s confection and consume were some of the cultural elements brought within the Black Atlantic diasporic flow, remaining until today. In this essay, we aim to retrieve the memory of angu in Rio de Janeiro, and applying the concepts of frameworking of memory (Pollak, 1992) and structural racism (Almeida, 2016), some provocations about the processes on the formation of angu’s memory within the carioca context will be brought up. Finally, we aim contributing to the discussion on the production of memory inside the scope of current disputes on patrimonialization related to the Little Africa’s territory, where Largo da Prainha is located.