The Dendiara Walk - by Ana Beltrame

In the deep, peripheral and almost invisible country, where a large part of the Brazilian people live, the story of little Dendiara, or Dendy, as those who found it in the extensive border region between Brazil and French Guiana were named. The unfortunate girl, who came from the harshest poverty, carries on her journey a symbol of the controversial occupation of the Amazon. The fictional character brings together clippings of the reality experienced closely by the author, during the period in which she was consul general of Brazil in Cayenne. From his narrative, illegal gold mining emerges, which denude and break the soil of the Amazon region, injecting it with mercury and ambition. The plot gains intensity amid riverside characters, wild animals and the still exuberant presence of the mythical forest. The waters of immense rivers and small streams constantly flow through the pages. Dendiara's tour is not just an intriguing book, capable of surprising and capturing the reader. It is also a dive into an environment unknown to most Brazilians, who tend to see the Amazon as an exotic and remote setting. Ana Beltrame shows this complex region in a fascinating way, bringing it closer to all of us, with the diplomat's sensitive and acute gaze that goes far beyond the closed circles of power.