Interview with Álvaro de Souza, author of “Cotidiano”

Photography: Cotidiano (2013)

Rio Iriri, Pará, Brazil

Álvaro de Souza is a visual artist, photographer, and theater actor, born in Oriximiná, in the Brazilian Amazon. From an early age, his journey was marked by a keen eye for images and the performing arts. He holds a degree in Visual Arts from the Federal University of Pará and in Tourism from UNAMA. Over the years, he has lived in various cities in Brazil and abroad, including Portugal, but has always maintained his deep connection with the Amazon. Currently, he lives on a floating house on the river, near his parents’ home, and dedicates himself to theater as a tool for social transformation. For him, photography, theater, and art are ways to document, raise awareness, and transform the reality around him.

For several years, he worked on a project at the Federal University related to the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a massive project impacting the Xingu River. His work focused on studying the dam’s social and environmental impacts, but at the same time, he found in photography a way to observe and document the daily lives of local fishermen and the transformations in the Amazonian landscape. This sensitive perspective resulted in a vast collection of images that capture the relationship between nature and the communities of the region.

“For Cotidiano, what caught my attention was that we were studying the impact of building a massive hydroelectric dam, a huge technological project, on the Xingu River. And in the midst of this transformation, there was a woman washing her pots in the river, going about her daily life, unaware of the changes that this dam would bring. Technology has changed many things in the region, but people still live as their great-grandmothers did. That contrast struck me: we were there conducting scientific research, while this woman continued her routine as always.”

“Even in riverside communities or Indigenous villages, people have cell phones and access to social media. Images have an immense power of communication. (…) I believe that an environmental education initiative using photography and video could draw attention to this reality. If we share these images on social media, we can make people aware that they are part of the problem—and the solution. Photography has this power of raising awareness and can be a great ally in environmental education.”

“I believe that when we have something positive to say, it can generate impact. This experience gave me a new perspective and a new way of thinking about the place where I am now. My purpose is to live here, to travel the world visiting friends and discovering new places, but always to return and turn my knowledge into work and art.”