Suffering and salvation in "A morte de José"

Abstract

The entrance of Joseph into heaven is a scene described in the song "A morte de José" (Joseph's death), a composition by Isabel Maria G. de A. Ramos and Maria Martha, recorded by Maria Martha herself in the album Flor amorosa (amorous flower), dated 1977, under the label RCA Victor. Currently, lyrics of songs have been the subject of several studies in the area of Theology and Science of Religion, those with explicitly religious thematic or not. In this song, we have the narrative of the death of Joseph, a poor, laborious exploited worker, on his entrance into heaven, together with the saints. The approach starts from the popular understanding of salvation according to the traditional popular religiosity to introduce the issue of the social question of the exploited poor which, at the time, was beginning to emerge in a more significant way in the theological scenario of Latin America. A religion that is alienated from the historical conditions is criticised while another possible understanding is beckoned, that of the God who is committed to the salvation of the most vulnerable. The focus, thus, shifts the religious perception from heaven to earth and, by portraying the reality of the severe suffering faced by the poorest in society, announces hope of their liberation through the establishment of the practice of justice.