Jangada

The jangada reached Brazil as a part of the rich exchange between India, Africa, China, and Japan, mostly in the two first centuries of the Brazilian colonization by the Portuguese people.The reason that jangada sailors are not found all over the Brazilian coast is due a quirk of history: by law, sailing craft not controlled by the Portuguese were systematically eliminated.With its admirable capacity of sailing upwind, and using the force of the wind to beat the ocean currents, the jangada found this part of the Brazilian coast as its ideal place, until the arrival of motorized boats which made (curiously few, until today) ports since the 19th century.Knowledge of constructing this family of artisan watercraft is nearing extinction – although there are still communities of fishermen present from the original group to occupy the Brazilian coast, the traditional jangada is no longer built from logs of varying size.[4]: 109 Welles chose to do "Jangadeiros" after reading an article in the December 8, 1941, issue of Time magazine that related the story of four impoverished Brazilian fishermen who set sail from Fortaleza on the jangada São Pedro in September 1941.Led by Manoel Olimpio Meira (called "Jacaré"), the jangadeiros were protesting over an economically exploitative system in which all fishermen were forced to give half of their catch to the jangada owners.After 61 days and 1,650 miles without any navigating instruments, braving the elements and making friendly stops along the way, they sailed into Rio de Janeiro harbor as national heroes.The result was a bill that was signed into law by President Vargas that entitled the jangadeiros to the same benefits awarded to all union laborers — retirement funds, pensions for widows and children, housing, education and medical care.He was allowed to finish filming the reenactment of the jangadeiros' epic voyage with a minimal budget and crew, but when he returned to the United States, RKO ended its contract with him.[3]: 312, 315, 317 Wilson was also the driving force behind the making of the 1993 documentary feature, It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles, which concludes with a reconstruction of "Jangadeiros".[9] - In 1984, Orson Welles narrated a documentary series created by Neil Hollander, The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail, that includes a 12-minute segment on the jangadeiros of northern Brazil.