Mariana: O Ouro Que Virou Lama

The first capital of Minas Gerais was built on gold and blood. In 2015, it became the stage for the biggest environmental crime in Brazil. And it holds a secret that nobody knows. Mariana was the first village, the first city, the first capital, and the first bishopric of Minas Gerais. Founded in 1696, it was designed as a planned city and produced Inconfidente poets, sacred painters, and jurists who tried to change the destiny of Brazil. Inside its cathedral, there is the only musical instrument by Arp Schnitger that exists outside of Europe. Built in 1701 in Hamburg and sent by the Portuguese Crown as a gift. And in 2015, the same city that holds this treasure became the scene of the biggest environmental crime in Brazil: the collapse of the Fundão dam, owned by Samarco. 45 million cubic meters of mud. 19 dead. 663 kilometers of rivers destroyed. Sources used in this video: — IPHAN (National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage) — Municipality of Mariana — IBAMA — Preliminary Technical Report (2015) — Fiocruz Foundation — Ten years since the Fundão Dam collapse — MPMG — Public Prosecutor's Office of Minas Gerais — iPatrimônio Portal / Municipal Chamber of Mariana — Archdiocese of Mariana — Arp Schnitger Organ — Minas 300 Years Portal — Government of Minas Gerais — Laura de Mello e Souza — Cláudio Manuel da Costa (Companhia das Letras) — Voz Ativa Newspaper / Correio de Minas — Restoration of the organ (2025) — Justiça Global — 10 years since the Mariana tragedy (2025)