A version of this article originally appeared on VICE Brazil.People have been debating whether rock and roll is dead for awhile now. As for goth subculture, no one is worried about whether or not it’s alive and capable of attracting more young people to the scene. In Brazil, it simply exists wherever there are two kids interested in Gothic architecture and poems about sickness and death by modernist writer Augusto dos Anjos.
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But the subculture continues to suffer the same ills that befell the punk movement. The aesthetic has been analyzed and commodified for sale. Goths frequently find themselves reduced to the stereotype of gloomy, probable Satanists who occupy their time drinking cheap wine in graveyards. That perception is far from true: in reality, goths are avid consumers of 19th-century literature who are genuinely concerned with preserving history, no matter how “morbid” it may seem to others. They support the local scene, be it by attending goth-themed parties or spreading information about goth culture.
To offer a more tasteful depiction of the goth universe in São Paulo, VICE Brazil met up with a few members of the goth community in the hazy neighborhood of Paranapiacaba. A former a hub for São Paulo Railway workers in the 19th century, Paranapiacaba is home to remarkably preserved Victorian architecture and a beautiful, ancient graveyard, making it the perfect place to talk with our distinguished friends about the current state of the subculture, representation, and their favorite Gothic works.This interview has been lightly edited for clarity. Each subject's alias within the goth community has been used at their request.
Freon Sad, 33
Favorite movie: This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967) by José Mojica Marins AKA Coffin Joe
Favorite band: Cabine C
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério da Quarta Parada, São Paulo
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Kei Hrist, 23
Favorite movie: The Hunger (1983) by Tony Scott
Favorite band: Mephisto Walz
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério do Araçá, São Paulo
Lays Bittersweet, 28
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Favorite movie: Edward Scissorhands (1990) by Tim Burton
Favorite book: Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë
Favorite band: Kommunity FK
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério da Santa Casa, Porto Alegre
Favorite book: Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Brontë
Favorite band: Kommunity FK
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério da Santa Casa, Porto Alegre
Liesel Raum, 23
Favorite book: Salem's Lot (1975) by Stephen King
Favorite band: Merciful Nuns
Favorite cemetery: Necrópole de São Paulo, São Paulo
Crow Corvo, 29
Favorite book: Frankenstein (1823) by Mary Shelley
Favorite band: Kirlian Camera
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério Municipal de General Salgado, General Salgado
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Nathalia Snow, 22
Favorite book: Historias Extraordinarias (“Extraordinary Tales”) (1859) by Edgar Allan Poe
Favorite band: Lebanon Hanover
Favorite cemetery: Cemitério da Quarta Parada, São PauloBruno Costa and Julia Reis contributed to this story.Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.