In the southern region of Brazil, the state of Rio Grande do Sul was overtaken by the waters, leaving behind a landscape of silence and loss.
Amid ruins and submerged memories, photographer Aline Evelin transformed collective despair into a poetic act of resistance, documenting not only destruction but the quiet gestures of survival.
Heroes in the Mud brings together images and words that pay tribute to those who lost everything, yet still stood tall.
Through her lens, despair becomes tenderness, and the mud, once a symbol of tragedy, turns into a mirror of resilience.
A visual and emotional testament to the hope that insists on emerging even where the ground seems to have been washed away.
Heroes in the Mud unfolds as a visual chronicle of courage and loss in the wake of the 2024 floods in southern Brazil.
Through the eyes of photographer Aline Evelin, each portrait bears witness to resilience, memory, and solidarity rising from the mud.
Heroes in the Mud
A Poignant Portrait of the Floods
in Southern Brazil
Original text by Aline Evelin - translated version
This work captures the devastation caused by the May 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, through touching poetry and powerful imagery.
Mrs. Castorina and Mr. José, local residents of Rio Grande do Sul, with thousands of Gaúchos, saw their lives and memories destroyed by the waters.
Rebuilding what the water took
Amid the chaos, both anonymous and known heroes emerged, devoted to bringing relief and rebuilding.
This book stands as a tribute to the courage and solidarity that blossomed in one of the darkest moments in the state’s history, immortalizing the essence of hope and resilience of the Gaúcho people.
Photographs by Aline Evelin
Original project and content generously shared by the author
Curatorial text and editorial adaptation by Angela Rosana,
for Viva o Clique Magazine
Published with the author’s permission
About the Photographer
Aline Evelin is a Brazilian photographer whose work explores human resilience and emotional truth through portraiture.
With two decades of experience in wedding and family photography, she turned her lens toward collective memory in Heroes in the Mud, documenting the 2024 floods in Southern Brazil with empathy and poetic sensitivity.
@alineevelinfot