Fordlandia and Belterra

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  Fordlândia, Pará, Brazil
Wednesday, September 1, 2010

I had been wanting to visit Fordlandia ever since Amy Goodman told me about it on Democracy Now! on my daily commute to work one morning in my former life. She was interviewing Greg Grandin, author of Fordlandia: The rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City, which I have since read and which has been the main source of my information on the place. So when I was planning this Amazon trip a visit to the jungle city was obviously high on the agenda.
 
In the late 1920's, Ford bought a large amount of land on the east bank of the Tapajós River (a tributary of the Amazon) with hopes of cultivating rubber for use in the production of the famous Model A car. Indeed it's just one example of many in which American companies (and governments) exploit South American resources for their own benefit, but this colony was unique in that Ford actually tried to "export America" to the Amazon. The car company built the town to resemble a midwestern American town, complete with which picket fences, fire hydrants, and a golf course. Workers were made to work American hours (meaning that they had to work through the heat of the Amazonian afternoon), eat American food, and live in American style houses, not suited for the Amazon. The company even tried to enforce prohibition in the town, even though it was not a Brazilian law. Needless to say, the workers resented the imposed lifestyle. That, along with natural forces that hindered the planted rubber trees from producing rubber, were the main reasons for the project's failure. Operations were moved upriver to Belterra, which was only a bit more successful, before World War II and the invention of synthetic rubber led the company to abandon the project altogether.
 
I visited Belterra first since it was much easier to reach, located only an hour or so away from Santarém by bus. I dropped my stuff off and went for a walk down the main road, where white houses with green trim line the street. The houses are mostly well preserved and many of them still have a tidy garden in front, since the company encouraged workers to keep them and even awarded a prize for the best garden. The first fire hydrant I've seen since leaving New York bought a smile to my face. The familiar red appliance says "Michigan" on top and seems so out of place, as does the old factory whistle which still blows four times a day, defying the timelessness of the jungle. It's a pretty bizarre scene altogether.
 
Fordlandia was harder to get to, mostly because of lack of information. Usually when I can't find what I'm looking for on google and wikitravel, I do a search on Travelpod. Surely someone has been where I'm going and blogged about it. But for the first time my search came up with no results; this entry you're reading now is the first to make any mention of either of the two cities. I knew generally where it was located and after talking to some locals I found out its a regular stop for the boats that go to Itaituba. The 12 hour boat ride left me at Fordlandia's dock at 4AM (I was the only one to get off at this stop) so I hung my hammock up at the dock to get a few more hours of sleep.
 
The first building that caught my eye after sunrise was Fordlandia's most recognizeable landmark: the 150-foot tall water tower which was apparently the tallest man made structure in the Amazon when it was built, and which is still in use today. The Ford-era lumber mill and power plant sit near it, and a modern church is also visible from the riverfront, creating a contrast with the old crumbling buildings. I took in the site that I've been waiting so long to see, and then decided to find a place to sleep. After checking into the only hotel in town, I went out exploring, with Greg Grandin's book in hand. One thing I noticed is that the locals here are really eager to talk to foreigners, much more than in Belterra. I went back down to the riverfront and took some pictures when a local named Elias approached me and started a conversation. He's a local reporter for a weekly newspaper in Santarém. He told me there was a book written about Fordlandia in the United States, and became overly excited when I pulled a copy out of my pocket to show him. As far as I can tell it was the first time anyone from here has seen the book about their town and it turned me into somewhat of a celebrity during my stay there. Several people asked me to look at it (even though none of them speak English) and translate the captions under the pictures. One family even invited me to lunch after I let them thumb through the book. I promised Elias I'd gift it to him before leaving.
 
Anyway, my new friend had nothing better to do so he offered to be my tour guide for the day. First, he took me on his motorcycle to Vila America, an all but deserted street which contains some of the houses where the American managers used to live. The street is lined with several crumbling houses, some antique street lamps and of course, more fire hydrants (I wonder if any of them were ever used). At the end of the street is a rusting swimming pool. Only one house is currently inhabited while the rest have become homes to dozens of bats. I went into each house to find some old sinks, bathtubs, and antique furniture which was left behind when the Americans abandoned the place. Every five minutes Elias would utter "Greg Grandin, Greg Grandin" to himself, like a police detective trying to solve a mystery. He decided to interview right then and there for the newspaper, so apparently I might appear in Santarem's gazette sometime in the next few weeks. Then he drove me to the old hospital which, believe it or not, was one of the most advanced in all of Latin America at the time. It was still in use for a few decades after the Americans left and I met a kid who claimed to have been born there in 1991. Today the hospital is in even worse shape than the houses, with most of its roof missing and a bunch of broken glass and wood on the floor. After that, Elias left me to explore on my own, and I went to get a closer look of the water tower and nearby buildings. Many of the machines in the power plant have names of American companies engraved in them, like "Weston Electrical Instruments Co." from Newark, NJ and "Brown & Sharpe MFG. Co." from Providence, R.I. I finished the day back where it started by sitting on the dock and watching the sun set over the Tapajós as dolphins swam nearby and kids took turns jumping off the dock into the water.

The next morning I strolled through some of the town's side streets, visiting the old school which is still in use. I decided that a visit to Fordlandia wouldn't be complete without climbing up the water tower, so me and some Spanish folks I met at the hotel climbed up the ladder for an awesome view. The jungle stretching as far as the eye can see served as a reminder that nature is in charge here and even one of the richest men in the world time couldn't change that.
 
My new Spanish friends arrived here by 4X4. Juan lives in nearby Itaituba and Sarah and Angel were just visiting from Spain. They had some fun stuff planned for the next few days and offered me to join. Sure! The Northeast coast could wait a few more days.
 
More photos on Facebook: http://bit.ly/cuBaub

Highly recommended Greg Grandin's book on Amazon.com (no pun intended): http://www.amazon.com/Fordlandia-Henry-Fords-Forgotten-Jungle/dp/B003RCJP5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283902042&sr=8-1
 
Fordlandia on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordlandia
Belterra on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belterra
 
Amy Goodman's interview of Greg Grandin: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/7/2/fordlandia_the_rise_and_fall_of

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