at a glance

Presented by the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, the study Rivalidade cultivada, conflito e unidade social num bairro carioca - Cultivated rivalry, conflict and social unity in a carioca neighborhood, by Wilma Marques Leitão uses the case of Paquetá island - it is renowned for the picturesque landscapes and idyllic excursions it offers. To the social researcher however, it offers an anthropological feast - exhibiting a structural organization in which residents and vacationers are embroiled in a day to day systemic rivalry.

In the scope of local anthropology, the people of Paquetá commonly observe a dichotomy between the Campo (field) and Ponte (bridge) binary. Even one day visitors, making many circuits of the island, notice the phenomenon, so small is the area in question - a little more than a kilometer squared. Just one overnight stay reveals an indubitable, recognized partition in Paquetá.

A representation of the island made by anyone who has the least experience of Paquetá, would understand it to be a relationship of opposition between its two sides. 'Not one person of Paquetá sees the island as a totality. It is always split in two. When people are in Paquetá  they forget about Rio. They think only about about Campo (field) and Ponte (bridge) '