The relationship between Florianópolis and magic is known since the 18th century. The king John V (Portugal) ordered the transfer of thousands of azoreans to Brazil to deal with two problems at once: the need to populate its colony in South America and to decrease the super-population in the archipelago of the Azores.
Pressed by the Inquisition, the king banned some people that were accused of witchcraft from Portugal. Their destination would be the mysterious island of Nossa Senhora do Desterro, located in the south of Brazil. Since then, the city is known as Island of Witches, which couldn’t be a better place to receive the new dwellers since the island was full of mysteries and energy. Two centuries ago, Nossa Senhora do Desterro has become Florianópolis, which nowadays is a big city, with more than 400 thousand of inhabitants, all full of buildings and the magic was suffocated and can be found only in specifics moments and places. One of this moments is when the fog rises and the day becomes cloudy. Its continental part gets all covered and the island dwellers are caught by a feeling of isolation, as if they were being transported to another dimension and time. The Magic fills the air and everything is possible again. This essays intends to dissolve the differences between reality and fantasy. The photos from this essay were taken during the summer, when the city almost doubles its population due to the tourists influx, exactly to show how rainy and cloudy days still can make the island full of mystery again. To summarize, a quotation from Franklin Cascaes, a historian born in Florianópolis that dedicated his life to studying the azorean folklore: “Witchcraft is tasteful, as I always said, because we don’t suffer in flesh the things we tell through stories”.
About the author:
Marco Favero was born in 1991. He lives and works in Brazil as photographer. Graduated in Journalism at State University of Ponta Grossa. Started a specialization in Fine Arts in the Parana’s Music and Fine Arts School. He now works as photojournalist at Diario Catarinense, a newspaper located in Florianópolis.
