The construction of the Sobradinho Dam and the relocation of the residents of Velha Sento-Sé to Nova Sento-Sé/Bahia

Abstract

The riverside communities of the municipalities of Sobradinho, Casa Nova, Pilão Arcado, Remanso and Sento-Sé in the State of Bahia have suffered socio-environmental and cultural impacts because of construction of hydroelectric dams on the São Francisco River, causing psychosocial damage to people, in addition to some environmental degradation. The main goal of this paper is to describe from memory the process of relocation of the residents of the old Sento-Sé village to the new city after the construction of the Sobradinho dam (1973). This way, it is intended to recount a historical reminiscence, recalling a socio-environmental and cultural context of the time of the flooding of this city that no longer exists tangibly. In the preparation of this article, semi-structured interviews have been conducted, based on reconstructed memories and reminiscences of the residents of that city, periodicals, documents from institutional sources and photographic images of the flood period. This research also produced a memorial record, a video-documentary called “Ecologia e Memória de Sento-Sé”, recorded in 2019 and available on YouTube, referring to a period in the history of the São Francisco Valley.