Urban Saci

The Saci-Pererê is certainly one of the best-known myths in all of Brazil. However, it is a mistake to think that its sphere of action is restricted to the woods. The Saci hops among us and updates its presence to remain ever-present. Who knows, maybe it is he who ties knots in headphones while they are still in your pants pocket, in the same way that he braids the manes of horses? Or does he make your Wi-Fi signal disappear like he used to make the seamstress's thimble disappear? It's not without reason that, whenever a storyteller mentions his name and some technical problem arises, Saci is pointed to as the culprit.

Saci in everyday life

Just access social media to see how omnipresent Saci is. He's in geolocation apps, showing check-ins at restaurants, neighborhoods, and stores with his name. He's in popular expressions, linked to mischief ("Virado no Saci") or intensity ("Vai cair uma chuva do Saci!"). He's in popular sayings, ranging from "In Saci's land, jeans are enough for two," to represent improvisation and makeshift solutions, to the one that also recalls his land, where "Any kick is a flying kick." Not to mention the one that identifies his single status as being "More detached than Saci's slipper."

Saci is also in nicknames (often racist, let's not deny it) linked to blackness, pipe smoking, or the absence of a leg. It is this last element, in particular, that makes him present in our imagination every time we see someone with a leg in a cast or hopping on one foot. These are all demonstrations of the daily presence of this apparition in our lives, even if we don't realize it.

Saci on the football fields

Saci is also in sports. He has been the mascot of Internacional de Porto Alegre since the mid-20th century, when, in response to the nickname that the players were "black sorcerers," the Colorado team embraced the provocation and instituted Saci as the representative of this mysterious ability. In 2010, the possibility of replacing him, giving way to the monkey Escurinho – mascot of Inter's social causes – was raised. The fans did not allow it.

Besides Inter, Saci is or was the mascot of other football teams, such as Social Futebol Clube, from Coronel Fabriciano, MG; and Esporte Clube Comercial, from Campo Grande, MS. The latter was once nicknamed "The Saci of the Village," but today boasts a maned wolf as its mascot.

The graffiti by Thiago Vaz

And, of course, Saci is on the walls of our cities. Every now and then, passersby will come across stylized images of the figure in red and black, with the critical stroke of graffiti translating the personality of each artist. And, among the interventions on the street, the most notorious is that of the Urban Saci.

The image is the creation of visual artist Thiago Vaz, who was born in the interior of Bahia, but moved to São Paulo early in life. From this interstice, in 2008, this "chavosa" figure blossomed, with only one foot shod in a red sneaker – the same color as his beret. In his markings, he is always bringing a social commentary. He is depicted being roughed up by the police, being evicted from buildings abandoned by real estate speculation, mourning the death of his black brothers in yet another massacre committed by the State. (www.estadao.com.br)

Thiago's Urban Saci has already circulated around the world. In the form of wheatpaste posters, it has been marked on the streets of Paris, Berlin and many others. Its presence outside the country helps to remind us how popular culture does not depend on belief, but on recognition and identity. A Frenchman who sees the one-legged figure on the wall, with his unfailing red hat, will not take it as more than a curious image. But a Brazilian who sees it will immediately know who he is. (colecionadordesacis.com.br)