FROM THE CHAPEL OF NOSSO SENHOR DO BONFIM DE JOÃO DE CAMARGO IN SOROCABA-SP

MEMORIES, IDENTITIES AND HERITAGE

Abstract

This essay aims to understand the meanings that João de Camargo's chapel known as Senhor do Bonfim and João de Camargo's “patrimonialized biography” acquire in the city of Sorocaba (SP), articulating the religious repertoires of the place. There, the life and work of this precursor of an original form of worship is translated into a way of living and seeing life through donation, but also through contact with the contradictions of the religious universe of a given time and the collective imagination of a city in the interior of São Paulo. Based on the materiality of this chapel and the objects that comprise it, as well as data that were collected locally, I present the experiences of collaborators and members who manage the site and a brief account of the visits made to try to capture its resonance with society and open new research paths on religious syncretism and its implications for institutions and the local belief system.