Because Brazil has the largest Afro-descendant population outside of Africa, slavery then plays a key role in the country's history. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the largest number of enslaved Africans were transported to Brazil (approximately 5 million).  Brazil was also the last country in the Western hemisphere to abolish slavery in 1888.  And even with the abolishment of slavery, Afro-Brazilian popular traditions and customs faced criminalization during the first few decades of the 20th century as a response to Afro-Brazilians gaining more rights. 

Teatro Terreiro Encantado's Auto do Negrinho play is completely framed by a story rooted in the impact of slavery on Afro-descendant populations in Brazil. Auto de Negrinho is based on the Negrinho do Pastoreio legend, which is a myth from the 19th century about a young enslaved boy who is subjected to abuse, torture, and finally death at the hands of a farmer and his family who enslave him. 

Auto do Negrinho introduces urban youth on a tangible level to the history of slavery in Brazil and its violent impact on Afro-descendant populations.  The actors use puppets and masks to bring the characters of Negrinho, the farmer, and his family to life in the play, showing the cruelty the protagonist Negrinho must endure within a social system that dehumanizes him and takes away his autonomy. The play brings attention to the impact of slavery on Black children and youth through Negrinho, which carries a social weight since Cleydson Catarina has stated the target audience for the play are children and youth from the periphery, many of whom are descendants of enslaved Africans. 

Framing contemporary social issues relevant to Afro-Brazilians within the history of slavery reminds the audience of the social systems designed to oppress certain populations laid the foundation for a society in which they continue be denied their full rights as Brazilian citizens. In a way Negrinho is a visual reminder of how the specter of slavery continues to haunt Black youth today who cannot escape the racial violence enacted by the state, which Uberê Guelê, one of the main actors of Teatro Terreiro Encantado, reiterates in an interview¹ is one of the key goals of the play:

São 131 anos de uma falsa abolição. Nunca tivemos nenhum tipo de reparação diante dos séculos de violência sofrida. Pelo contrário, o que estamos denunciando nesse espetáculo é que continuamos escravizados, continuamos em fuga, continuamos quilombolas em luta pela liberdade.

It is 131 years of a false abolition. We never received any kind of reparation for the centuries of violence suffered.  On the contrary, what we are denouncing in this play is that we continue to be enslaved, we continue to be on the run, we continue to be maroons fighting for freedom (author's translation).