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José de Alencar's love story, which might be thought of as a Brazilian "Pocahontas," tells how Iracema meets and falls in love with the Portuguese colonist Martim. Their child, named Moacir, represents the union of the Portuguese with the native people, from whom the Brazilian people arise. But, tragically, Iracema dies, metaphorically demonstrating that the cost of this union is the life of the native peoples of Brazil. Iracema is considered the most important work of Brazil's romantic period, and one of the most important novels in the 500 years of Brazilian literature.