Entre ruínas e histórias, histórias de ruínas: Atafona como paisagem do Antropoceno no Litoral Brasileiro

The district of Atafona is located in the delta of the Paraíba do Sul River, in the northern region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. During the 20th century, it became the main resort for the residents of the city of Campos dos Goytacazes, who built their summer homes in Atafona and traveled there with their families on a seasonal basis. About 60 years ago, with the intensification of the ecological disturbances suffered by the Paraíba do Sul River, the sea began a process of gradual encroachment on the built-up areas of the resort, “swallowing” entire blocks and eliminating houses, trees and streets from the landscape. Today, on the beachfront, rebar, walls, slabs and other remnants of what were once summer homes constitute the ruins of Atafona, offering, at the same time, images of the present and memories of a relatively recent past. Our article, based on ethnographic fieldwork—conducting interviews, reviewing bibliography, consulting journalistic material and analyzing family photo albums—presents the constitution of Atafona as a seaside resort for the elites of the North of Rio de Janeiro and reflects on the formation of the ruins of the beach and the social impact of the erosion process in a landscape that provides the materialization of the Anthropocene.