Fulfilling the dream of having your own home and being able to raise and educate your children safely and feed them has perhaps been one of the greatest skills of human beings. Today, with so much innovation and sudden changes in people's lives, caused mainly by the new coronavirus pandemic, many values may have changed, such as living in a safer environment, having freedom of movement, the need for expression, the need to be together, but maintaining health safety.
Well, it's not current affairs that I want to write about. I want to express my gratitude to the Brazilian government that saw the need to expand agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado, mainly in the Federal District, with the initial proposal of feeding the candangos and future residents of Brasília.
The first Japanese immigrants came at the invitation of former president Juscelino Kubitschek, as he believed that only the Japanese mastered the technique for producing food in dry, sandy soil. The Kanegae family, coming from Goiânia, were the first to face the difficulty of creating new production techniques. They tried. They made a mistake. But they didn't give up. During this period, several other families came to try a new life in the Federal Capital, and together, they experimented, made mistakes and improved until they mastered the production of vegetables.
The region in which I live is called Núcleo Rural Alexandre de Gusmão, located in the rural area of the Administrative Region of Brazlândia. Here, the expansion of family farming began in the 70s. Several Japanese immigrants from the interior of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and mainly Paraná came to buy their dream land to start a new journey.
My parents met in the city of Assaí, in Paraná, got married and came to Brazlândia together with my grandparents. My maternal grandparents were already settled here.
My father was a major guava producer in the 80s, winning recognition and awards. He holds this moment with great pride to this day. We also grow potatoes, garlic, carrots, beets, strawberries, lettuce and cassava.
Because we have a large colony of Japanese in the region, the Alexandre de Gusmão Rural and Cultural Association, ARCAG, was founded, which at the time was the meeting place for members to maintain culture and traditions. We also have a Japanese language school.
At school, we had bunkasai , undoukai , holiday celebrations, walks and even jigyou sankanbi . I loved all the activities, it was my time to be with friends and have a lot of fun.
Over time, ARCAG saw the need to value the production of its members and at the time, strawberry production was at the top of productivity in the region. In a timid way, the first edition of the Brasília Strawberry Festival was held. And as the years went by and with the increase in visitors and those interested in the fruit, the party grew and we began to receive support from the local government to hold the event, which takes place in August, when fruit productivity is at its peak. .
Due to the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, the party was held symbolically, to preserve the tradition and remind everyone that rural producers did not drop the ball regarding the pandemic. Unfortunately, because they always think about the accomplishment (all associates and family members work voluntarily), few remember to record their memories of the activities in a photo or in writing. But I assure everyone that it is a joyful celebration and all associates are proud to be part of this event.
My city also stands out for its guava production. And, like the strawberry festival, we also held the guava festival in March, with the support of the local government. There are already five editions! I feel great pride in being part of this community!
Many children of emigrants no longer think about inheriting manual labor on the farm. Many are public servants and businesspeople. But whenever they can, they give that strength to the Association, so that we can keep the culture and roots of our ancestors alive. We have other activities at ARCAG, but I'll tell you about that on another page.
I hope that the 26th edition of the Strawberry Festival will be held in 2022 with lots of hugs, smiles and being able to be close to people we care about, without fear of contracting Covid-19.
© 2021 Clarice Satiko Aoto
