The murdered city

The Murdered City , Antonio Callado's first play, was born as a tribute to the 400th anniversary of the city of São Paulo and is today a classic of Brazilian literature.

Written and performed in the 1950s, The Assassinated City transports the audience to 1500s Brazil in three acts, alongside historical and legendary characters, such as João Ramalho and Father José de Anchieta.

With a rich text, filled with historical layers and intertextualities, Callado presents in The Assassinated City his political concerns – which will appear in later works, such as his novel Quarup –, such as the indigenous condition, religious colonization, the formation of the Brazilian people and the imposition of a logic of progress, which was in full swing in Juscelino Kubitschek's Brazil.

In the play, the city of Santo André da Borda do Campo is threatened by the governor-general's desire to transfer the pillory (a symbol of civilizing presence) to the village of São Paulo. Alongside this, a conflict of interest regarding the treatment of the region's indigenous people emerges between the physical violence of the first bandeirantes and the symbolic violence of the Jesuits. War between the men approaches, but not without first considering the decisive action of Rosa Bernarda, a woman and a mameluca—a strong female character, as is the hallmark of Callado's theater.

By blending historical memory and fiction, classic texts such as "Auto de Anchieta," "Iracema," and "Song of Solomon," the author, an immortal of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, is able to bring out Brazilian identity itself. The play presents political conflicts, which, despite being represented by the interests between colony and metropolis, are still perceptible today, as well as romantic conflicts, including the ethical battle between love and duty. The very condition and mission of art and the search for freedom are also discussed—specific and general themes that can elevate "The Assassinated City" to the rank of great works of universal significance.