“Municipal Day of the Roma Ethnicity of Penedo, Alagoas”: Context and Reflections in the Calon Community and Schools

Abstract

This is a cut of the master’s thesis presented to the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology - PPGAS at the Federal University of Alagoas, in July 2023. Our objective is to develop reflections on the context in which the Municipal Law no 1.650/2019 was drafted, which instituted the "Municipal Day of the Gypsy Ethnicity of Penedo-AL", analyzing tensions and challenges imbricated in said drafting. In addition, we aim to discuss the implications of this legislation in the daily life of the community, bringing relevant reflections on some actions developed from the school. The subjects of the research were the Calon ethnic Roma living in the upper part of the city of Penedo, located at the southern end of Alagoas, in the region of Baixo São Francisco. The methodology that permeated all the research was the ethnographic practice, and among the techniques used I highlight the documentary analysis, which allowed to look at the aforementioned law and the meanders that were instituted. As for the results, the legislation, as a legal apparatus, is an instrument of struggle for visibility and protagonism of Calon. Although there is a misunderstanding about the name of this law, it presents itself as a milestone in the construction of a new regime of memory in the city of Penedo-AL, which may drive the elaboration and/ or expansion and adjustments of public policies for the local Roma population.