GILBERTO FREYRE AND THE BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST: ANALYTICAL NOTES

This paper analyzes Gilberto Freyre’s seminal work Nordeste (1937) as a foundational interpretation of Brazil’s Northeast, highlighting its selective focus on the agrarian, sugarcane-producing coastal zone while also acknowledging the region’s broader socio-geographic diversity. Freyre’s approach—shaped by anthropological influences, particularly those of Franz Boas—privileges cultural and historical processes over economic determinism, constructing a vision of the Northeast characterized by both opulence and decadence, tradition and modernity. By analyzing Freyre’s nostalgic and impr ... continue reading->

Keywords: Gilberto Freyre; Brazilian Northeast; regional identity; sugarcane aristocracy; cultural history; Nordeste