Page 185 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

170 Maria José A. de Abreu

The Netscape of Canção Nova

[He intertwines the fingers of his hands].You have to think of Canção Nova
as a network, which is also the work- of- a-net . . . you see? It connects people
and it catches people. Think of Our Lady of Aparecida, the saint that was
found in a fishing net. Think of the apostles, they were fishermen . . . and
now look at that antenna, does it not look like a net? And think of the
INPE, the Aerospace Institute over there, what are they doing?
Netting! . . . {enredando} Their work is to catch things in the air, that antenna
also catches things in the air, it connects but it also catches, converts, trans-
forms, look at my hands now, what is the best way for me to make my hands
stronger? It is by interlacing them. Look . . . your mind, if you listen, my
mind is weaving these thoughts and when you see how things are so beauti-
fully related, how can you doubt that there is a greater mind behind all
reality? . . . (Interview with Nuno Carvalho, 8 November 2001) 4

Canção Nova is situated in Cachoeira Paulista halfway between São Paulo
and Rio de Janeiro within the Valley of Paraiba River: a strip of flatlands
that border the beautiful Serra da Mantiqueira and Serra do Mar, not far
from the Atlantic Ocean. It has a total population of 27.000 inhabitants
and an average annual temperature of 26 degrees Celsius. Most of its
economy is based on livestock and agriculture. A trip through the region
provides one with a fair idea about the dominance of Catholicism,
expressed in its many cathedrals and numerous unofficial chapels that
have been built by lay believers well back in the colonial days. The event
that turned the Valley of Paraiba into a renowned spot, however, is the
great miracle of Aparecida, after which the national basilica and sanctu-
ary were built. The legend tells how in 1717 three fishermen found the
image of Our Lady of Aparecida on the margins of the River Paraiba.
Devotion to the image grew exponentially, and in 1929 Our Lady of
Aparecida was crowned as the official patron saint of Brazil. Since then,
every year on 12 October, thousands of pilgrims travel from all around
Brazil and Latin America to the Sanctuary of Our Lady. The proximity of
Canção Nova to the national sanctuary adds to the reputation of the

Valley as a privileged spot for religious tourism.
Today, Canção Nova broadcasts on AM, FM, and SW radio, owns
four TV generators and 263 retransmitter antennas, is connected to 146
services of cable TV reaching the West of Europe, North Africa and Latin
America, Uruguay and Paraguay, and owns the first Catholic WebTV in
the world. TV Canção Nova broadcasts in UHF 24 hours a day, and
80 percent of its programs are transmitted live. The main base covers an
enormous area of about 20.000 m2 with many subdivisions: the housing