Cajueira: meet the independent journalism curator of the northeast
The initiative's proposal is to seek more visibility for the productions that Northeastern independent journalism has carried out
Credits: Publicity
By: Eduarda Nunes – Favela em Pauta / Lupa do Bem
In order to combat stereotypes attributed to the northeast, as well as reinforce that what happens in the region is also a national agenda, women journalists from Pernambuco, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte created Cajueira, a biweekly newsletter that proposes to give more visibility to productions that Northeastern independent journalism has carried out.
On the one hand, the sertão, drought, hunger, poverty, the need for constant help – on the other, the paradisiacal beaches of the northeast, carnival and summer. This is a region that, even with cultural differences and similarities between the nine states that compose it, has a still fixed imagery of a suffering or exotic place.
In addition, the custom of framing what happens in the northeast as regional, while local events in cities in the southeast lead to large national coverage, is a nuisance for journalists like Mariama Correia, a Pernambuco native who idealized Cajueira.
Founded during the pandemic, in November 2020, this newsletter is named in direct reference to the cashew tree.
”The branched growth of the cashew tree, in several directions, unites the treetops in the cashew plantations as if they had a common trunk, transmitting an idea of union and reception in a great shade”, comments Nayara Felizardo, a journalist from Ceará and a of the curators who today continue the initiative.
”The cashew and chestnut have different shapes, colors, aromas and flavors. A good metaphor for the independent journalistic initiatives that we want to present in this newsletter,’’ he adds.
Cajueira: free, online and independent
Distributed digitally and for free, the independent journalism curator has nearly 1800 subscribers and a subscription campaign to further expand delivery formats.
Joana Suarez is one of the journalist-curators of Cajueira who also shares the discomfort of observing the productions of northeastern journalism being made invisible to the detriment of the reinforcement of stereotypes about the region.
As if from Maranhão to Bahia there wasn’t much to talk about besides poverty, folkloric matters and tourist attractions. With Cajueira, “we prove exactly the opposite”, says the woman from Pernambuco.
“It’s a biweekly newsletter that we always have to choose guidelines to put in the curatorship, because there’s a lot being done, produced with quality, [in a] diverse and plural way in all nine states”.
“In addition to Joana and Nayara, Mariana Ceci (Rio Grande do Norte) and Jayanne Rodrigues (Ceará) are also part of the team that just over a year ago launched around 40 editions of the newsletter. The idea for the project came about through Redação Virtual, a training workshop for independent journalists, designed and taught by Joana Suarez.
“This path that everything ends in São Paulo is a path that we have to fight against. It can’t be like that anymore, it’s past time. It’s ugly that you don’t have regional representation, you know?”, asks Joana Suarez.
How to support and follow Cajueira
It is possible to follow through the social media profiles (on Twitter and Instagram) and sign up to receive the Cajueira newsletter every two weeks. The project has also received incentives and funds through the APOIA.se platform.
