Deni and Lila, hippies that live in Curitiba’s downtown, explain how their culture contributes for their life perspective, and how it changed through the decades

Lucas Panek, Karina Fernandes and Victória Tuler

The Eufrasio’s Correia Square, in front of Estação Shopping Center – a historic point of Curitiba, hosts a group of people that lives their urban routine in a different way. People that pass by may notice their alternative clothes style as well as their peacefull manner of selling their goods. They are the new hippie generation that is conquering space on the main city of Paraná.

With long dreads, that goes down to the waist, Deni spends his mornings sitting at the square. Daily, he exposes his mystics acessories to sale. While he braided a bracelet, the 24 years old boy told us how he got in touch with the hippie culture. He also revealed his perspective about living in a metropolis.

New ideology

The hippie movement spread around the world in the decade of 1960, followed a behavior of counterculture. Based in the principle of “non violence”, the members used to live in communities, fighting for environmental causes, sexual emancipation and the detachment of material goods. Deni tells that the philosophy is simpler now: “The hippie culture is really democratic. It defends that we can be who we want to”.

The first contact of the young man with this liberating ideology happened in a conversation with a man that was selling bracelets at XV de Novembro’ Street. Interrested in the handmade art, Deni was leaded to know more about this style of life and became an apprentice of the man. “He taughted me and said that I needed to go on alone. He said that I had learned to ‘walk’, now I was by myself”, he tells. According to him, the bigger lesson to the actual hippie generation is the “value of what is thought and the way that you guide your own life”.

Lila, 25, member of the hippie group spread along XV de Novembro’ Street, also highlights this individualistic character: “People are born, grow up, and live trying to achieve some goals that are forced by the society. Hippies have a different philosofy. It’s about freedom and personal growth”. She affirms that what connects the group, nowadays, is the authentic and strong culture. “We get together to sell our products, not to fight for any cause”, she told.

Curitiba also has a hippie fair, the “Feirinha do Largo da Ordem”. Always at sundays the event brings together more than 15 thousands participants. The station Cidade Verde has vehiculated some informations about the fair. It treats about the enchanting of the tourists and its story:

Urban dynamics

One characteristic associated with hippies is the searching for anarchism of igualitarian communities. Doubt remains as to how this group feels the urban experience in Curitiba. Deni responds saying that “here people are used to respect each other. The problem is that they don’t pay attention and don’t help other people. For Lila, the failure is the lack of urban space connection: “ People of Curitiba doesn’t have the habit of stopping and living the city, the streets and the parks. They are rushing through us, only thinking about their appointments”. In the other hand, she affirms that hippie culture is hypping between the teenagers. “They are interested  in our pieces .They enjoy our fashion. They appreciate us”, concludes. Read more about hippie fashion clicking here.

Hippies vs Malucos

Deni tells that, inside of the group, there’s some discrimination. In his perspective, there’ re people that distinguish the members in two cattegories: hippies and insanes. “It’s a demonstration of arrogance wanting to spread us apart. I consider myself a hippie. But some people call me crazy. What really matters is who I want to be”, he says. He explais that hippies are those ones that live the ideology “peace and love”, while the insanes are those who doesn’t do a thing of their lives. For Lila, this diferenciation doesn’t affects the relationships inside of the group: “Nobody is privated of living because of an denomination”.