Pipiripau, the World of Raimundo
Director Aluizio Salles Jr.
Countries Brazil
Duration 64 min
Synopsis
The film “PIPIRIPAU, THE WORLD OF RAIMUNDO” shows Raimundo Machado’s uniqueness and construction skills, as the artist who has built the Pipiripau, a nativity scene and work of art and mechanics, which has been impressing the population of Belo Horizonte since the begging of the 20th century and is an important character in the city’s chimera. We see figurines and scenes composing the artwork, going far beyond the Christmas theme and representing popular crafts so common in Belo Horizonte: the blacksmiths, the musicians, the washwomen, the carpenters, the shoemakers, and others. The film also shows how the complex web of wires, spools, pulleys, and counterweights gradually developed from scrap by Raimundo created an unbelievable mechanism such as those in the old steam locomotives workshops. Besides the thorough research and the interviews with significant characters, the narrative relies on a precious document: The recording of Raimundo’s life history, perhaps the only audio data by someone who saw Belo Horizonte being built from inception.
The film “PIPIRIPAU, THE WORLD OF RAIMUNDO” shows Raimundo Machado’s uniqueness and construction skills, as the artist who has built the Pipiripau, a nativity scene and work of art and mechanics, which has been impressing the population of Belo Horizonte since the begging of the 20th century and is an important character in the city’s chimera. We see figurines and scenes composing the artwork, going far beyond the Christmas theme and representing popular crafts so common in Belo Horizonte: the blacksmiths, the musicians, the washwomen, the carpenters, the shoemakers, and others. The film also shows how the complex web of wires, spools, pulleys, and counterweights gradually developed from scrap by Raimundo created an unbelievable mechanism such as those in the old steam locomotives workshops. Besides the thorough research and the interviews with significant characters, the narrative relies on a precious document: The recording of Raimundo’s life history, perhaps the only audio data by someone who saw Belo Horizonte being built from inception.