Grass War!, a video produced by two GVSU faculty members documenting a peasant uprising in Brazil, will be screened at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 19, in Loosemore Auditorium at the DeVos Center, located on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The showing is open to the public.
The 30-minute video is the culmination of a two-year project undertaken by Cliff Welch, associate professor of History and coordinator of the Latin American Studies Program, and Toni Perrine, associate professor of Communications. The husband-and-wife team traveled to Brazil twice over the past two summers to write, produce and tape the story of what is known in Brazil as the Grass War.
The struggle occurred in 1959 when about 800 Brazilian families resisted a landowner's attempt to kick them off land they had converted from forest to farm fields. The landlord, a cattle rancher, planted grass in their crops and the peasants, led by Jofre Correa Netto, rebelled by pulling the grass out by the roots.
Welch said he became interested in Jofre Correa Netto because he was called the Fidel Castro of Brazil for his flamboyant leadership, yet little was known about him and he was believed to be dead.
Welch and Perrine found him very much alive, so much so that he will attend the premiere on April 19. The documentary features interviews with him along with newsreel footage and comments from other Grass War participants who refer to Jofre as both a hero and a psychopath. Jofre will offer comments and answer questions following the screening.
The video is intended to be used as a classroom tool for lessons on history and its retelling.
