Ian Cheibub 2021 The Canon Award for Potential
Believers pray during the event. © Ian Cheibub
Silas Mafalaia (62), a conservative pastor and one of the biggest supporters of the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, talks on the microphoone at the headquarter of his church Assembleia de Deus - Vitória em Cristo (Assembly of God - Victory in Christ) at Penha, in the north Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Malafaia is a big reference among Brazil’s evangelicals for the Prosperity Theology and also one of the fastest growing pastors. This theology has been growing strongly amongst conservative evangelicals who, most of the time, are supporters of the president Jair Bolsonaro. © Ian Cheibub
Members of the church Assembleia de Deus - Vitória em Cristo (Assembly of God - Victory in Christ) pray during a worship service at the headquarters of the megachurch. This is one of the biggest megachurches in the city, which attracts thousands of members everyday. It is located in the Penha neighborhood, in the north zone of Rio. Penha is known for its conflicts between drug dealers and police and for the favelas in its surrounding. The church plays an important role in mediating the conflicts because they have free access to both sides. It is also an important exit and option for lower class Brazilians who live in impoverished places without access to education, health care and sewage. The megachurch is run by Silas Mafalaia, a conservative pastor and one of the biggest supporters of the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. © Ian Cheibub
A believer from the church Assembleia de Deus - Vitória em Cristo (Assembly of God - Victory in Christ) writes down as she wears a ring written. © Ian Cheibub
A Bible translated to Krikati Language is seen at the house of Tiago Krikati and his wife, Flor de Lis Krikati, from the tribe Sao Jose, in Maranhao State. The Bible was translated by an American missionary who arrived in the village in the 70’s and spent more than 30 years learning the language and the culture. © Ian Cheibub
Missionaries and indigenous from the tribe Sao Jose Krikati, in Maranhao State, watch an evangelical meeting that took place in the tribe. The Krikati ethnicity has been growing its evangelical population in the last 10 years. © Ian Cheibub
Kaylane Campos, 17, lights a candle dressed up with traditional Candomble costumes, an afro brazilian religion, at her house and temple, in the North Zone of Rio. Kaylane was hit by a stone when she was 11 years-old after she walked in front of Silas Malafaia's church dressed in Candomble traditional clothes. The hit cut her head and she went to the hospital. Since 2015, when her case happened, Kaylane became a symbol against religious intolerance in Rio de Janeiro. Even so, the number of religious racism cases reported are growing up. In 2019, from January to September there were more than 200 cases, whereas in 2018 there were 92. © Ian Cheibub
Indigenous girls from Krikati Ethnicity pray during a birthday party at Sao Jose Krikati tribe, Maranhao state, Brazil. Some of the Krikati girls already work at the church as missionaries. © Ian Cheibub
The indigenous leader Tiago Krikati and his wife, Flor de Lis Krikati, from the tribe Sao Jose, in Maranhao State, pray at the evangelical temple in the village during the CONPLEI JOVEM event. Tiago says that Jesus saved his life. He was an alcoholic, unemployed and used to beat his wife. Today he works as a teacher in his village’s school and is a missionary pastor trying to get his village converted. © Ian Cheibub
Members of Igreja Missionaria Jesus Cristo (Missionary Church Jesus Christ) hold the body of an uncontrolled boy. According to the members of the church, a demon had dominated his body and it was freed by Jesus during the service. The pastor said this boy had tried to kill himself weeks before. This small church , in Sao Goncalo, Metropolitan Region of Rio, is known in the city for different miracles, according to its members. It is part of the Neopetencostal movement in Brazil. Although many aspects of this theology come from the USA, when it arrived in Brazil many new aspects were integrated. The “demons’’ act as the spirits in afrobrazilian religions, local instruments from Samba and Forró are played instead of Europeans’ and the rhythm the musicians play is also very similar to african beats. Evangelical Neopentecostal churches have been growing fast in Brazil and have a big support from the president Jair Bolsonaro. © Ian Cheibub
Missionary Nilton Pereira preaches to drug dealers at a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Nilton used to be a drug dealer and became an evangelical missionary in jail. He now works as a cleaning staff of a building and uses his free time to spread the words of Jesus. Nilton is one of the examples of the many Brazilians who gained a “new life” with his conversion. One of the reasons why evangelicals grow fast in Brazil is because they fill a gap that was left open by the state. The church provides education, shelter, food and a social environment for its members. Besides that, Brazil has a strong catholic background. One of the biggest differences between evangelism and catholicism is that evangelicals can forgive any sins and provide a new life for those who go in the “wrong” path. © Ian Cheibub
Pastor David Bailey poses for a portrait before a wedding at Monte Alegre tribe. The Pastor is a son of American missionaries from the New Tribes Mission organization. His parents went to Brazil in the 70’s to evangelize indigenous tribes. This was the “First Wave”, when Americans came to Brazil to evangelize indigenous. Mr. Bailey also dedicates his life evangelizing indigenous tribes. He and his wife lived for 30 years in the tribe Sao Jose Krikati, from the Krikati ethnicity, 90 km away from Imperatriz, where they currently live. © Ian Cheibub
Golgotha
Golgotha, the title of the project, means, in Hebrew, “The Place of the Skull”. In the Bible, the hill where Jesus was crucified. In the Roman Empire, the most cruel penalty. In Israel, the main pilgrimage point. Contemporary Brazil brings this dual meaning of Golgotha: a territory where is a death machine, but also the place of sacrifice, resurrection and redefinition of meanings. What are the reasons that explain the Evangelical growth in Brazil in recent years? Inequality, desire for a better life, promises of economic success and the offer of a new life and opportunities are just some of the factors for a better understanding of this process. This project tries to understand the different faces of evangelization in the country, trying to find the gaps in between the biblical and the tupiniquim, the Jesus green and yellow from the Brazilian Flag and the creative contradictions it brings. It looks at the place where the people put their faith, sometimes their money and many others their anguishes and ambitions.
About the Photographer
Ian Cheibub (b. 1999) is a visual storyteller based in Rio de Janeiro studying media at Universidade Federal Fluminense. In his work, Ian tries to understand what are the mechanisms that the people from the Global South develop to survive and how they empower their own narratives through cultural, political and social tools. He is also interested in how their/our reality is changed through this empowerment. As such, his areas of interest are related to human rights, religion and popular culture. Ian Currently works as a stringer photographer for Reuters and covers stories in Brazil for other media outlets. His photo and video works have also been published on GEO Magazine, Spiegel, The Guardian, De Volkskrant, STERN, VICE, Al Jazeera, and Folha de Sao Paulo, among other outlets. In 2019, his project Jurujuba was named the Best Portfolio for the Canon Student Program and was nominated for the Coup de Cœur Prize – ANI (Association des Iconographes).