The year 1932 is a milestone in the history of Céará. One of the worst droughts ever recorded devastated the sertão, leading to scenes already immortalized in classics of Brazilian literature—such as Vidas Secas by Graciliano Ramos and O Quinze by Rachel de Queiroz: drought refugees forced to leave their homes to escape hunger and misery.
At the very beginning of the year, roads filled with victims walking toward the capital, Fortaleza, or at least to a town with a train station to ease their journey. As their numbers swelled into the thousands, train ticket sales were suspended, and some of the towns along the railway line took on a new role: housing the refugees in concentration camps under the promise of food and work.
