CURUCUCU DIVINO

The Curucucu Divino project presents an unprecedented series of still and moving images captured by Fernando Young during the renowned Brazilian festival Cavalhadas of Pirenópolis, Goiás.

After two decades of study and fascination with the festivity, the Rio de Janeiro–born photographer and director immersed himself in the centuries-old “sacred” ritual — theatrically staged yet simultaneously crossing the thresholds of “decency” and “civility.”

The duality inherent in the invocation of the Holy Spirit and in the preservation of Christianity in Iberia — the historical pretext for the entire celebration in Pirenópolis — directly confronts the “profane” freedom constructed in the background of this deeply rooted and structural tradition. One might even venture to say that the battle between Moors and Christians has found its final and enduring peace there, in the countryside of the state of Goiás.

Moving between documentary and staging — from the medieval formations of the Moorish and Christian knights to the spontaneity of the masked figures, the curucucus — Young’s photographs unfold in three distinct acts that function as interpretive keys to the festival in Goiás: Divine, Curucucu, and Profane.

Through this work, the artist invites the viewer to enter the celebration through both familiar and unexpected paths — classical yet radically contemporary — revealing nuances, layers, and surprising readings of one of Brazil’s greatest popular festivals.