Beyond the Tragedy: Recognizing the Brumadinho Victims Memorial as an Example of Dark Heritage and Dark Tourism in Brazil

• Grant number: 25/02234-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Tourism
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Henrique Teixeira da Silva
• Grantee: Isabella Carvalho Guedes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia e Ciências (FEC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rosana. Rosana , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to present a proposal for research in the area of tourism and dark heritage in Brazil. Tourism, with its vast scope across diverse spaces and sciences, provides the opportunity to be analyzed from a variety of perspectives. In this research, tourism will be discussed within the segment of dark tourism, which attracts travelers to places with memories of death, tragedies, and disasters. In the context of dark tourism in Brazil, memories marked by pain and tragedy can be considered potential attractions within this segment. One such example is the "Brumadinho Victims Memorial" in Minas Gerais, which preserves the memory of the victims of the 2019 environmental disaster caused by the dam rupture at the 'Córrego do Feijão' mine in the city of Brumadinho, MG. Thus, this project aims to analyze how the construction of the Brumadinho Victims Memorial can contribute to the preservation of local memory, from the perspective of dark tourism and dark heritage.