Read Wellness
The Pinacoteca de São Paulo’s presentation of artist Nádia Taquary’s work on Roque explicitly acknowledges that much of his history survives through oral accounts rather than comprehensive documentation.
That uncertainty carries importance.
Roque José Florêncio deserves something more meaningful than another sensational legend.
He deserves to be remembered as a human being.
His story centers on the society that claimed ownership over his body.
It centers on the family memories that survived after that society changed.
Plan Family Trips
It centers on the difficult process of recovering the identity of someone whose life was shaped by forced labor.
Study Biology
To understand the man called Pata Seca, we must first understand the world into which he was born.
A Childhood in a Country Built on Enslaved Labor
Roque is commonly said to have been born around 1827 or 1828 in the Sorocaba region of São
