Quilombo Ferreira Diniz recognized as Rio de Janeiro’s first urban heritage site

The National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) has designated the Quilombo Ferreira Diniz in the Glória neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro as the first urban quilombo in the state to receive federal heritage status. The decision, made during the institute’s 114th Advisory Council meeting, ensures the site is inscribed in the Book of Documents and Sites Holding Historical Reminiscences of Ancient Quilombos.

Occupied by approximately 70 descendants of the Ferreira and Diniz families, the territory serves as a space for memory, community coexistence, and the transmission of Afro-Brazilian knowledge. Iphan emphasized that the recognition goes beyond protecting physical structures, acting as a means of historical reparation and identity affirmation.

In the same meeting, the Council approved the registration of the Cortejo da Cavalaria de São Gonçalo e São Benedito in Guaratinguetá, São Paulo, and the heritage listing of the Capela do Cristo Operário in São Paulo, a landmark of the local labor movement. Additionally, the Council revalidated the cultural registrations of the Fandango Caiçara and the Festa do Pau da Bandeira de Santo Antônio in Ceará.