Ernesto Cruz: um diálogo entre a história e a construção do patrimônio cultural no Pará (1940-1960)

Abstract

This study analyzes the contribution of the historian, Ernesto Horacio Cruz, from the Brazilian state of Pará, to the patrimonial preservation in the state. His name, amongst various cultural associations in Pará, which he used to belong to, is linked to the management of the former Public Library and Archive of the State of Pará (BAP) and the Historical and Geographical Institute of Pará (IHGP), maintaining the preservationist aspect, not evidenced throughout his life story, exposed in books, newspaper notes, tributes, as well as in speeches of his colleagues. However, in the process of the listing of heritage assets of the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage of Pará (IPHAN/PA), throughout the 40’s and 60’s, his name is constantly present, a fact which motivated the incursion of the history of the preservation of heritage in Pará through his presence. The aim of his study is to understand the practices and set of actions taken by Ernesto Cruz towards heritagization, during the initial decades of IPHAN’s operation in Brazil, devising a historical study of heritage preservation policy in the State of Pará. Consequently, the uniqueness of this study is to present the preservationist dimension of Ernesto Cruz, an aspect not yet explored in the field of Amazonian historiography or in architecture. From his role as delegate of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Service, Ernesto Cruz became a key figure in the process of institutionalizing historical heritage in the state of Pará. The investigation is based on 20th century sources, such as the historian’s intellectual output, which includes books, newspapers articles and documents found in the IPHAN’s listings process, as well as sources that are linked to themes that emerged from his material such as the transformation of the city of Belém, its architecture and history.