Current paper analyzes the life and works of the cultural agent Cornélio Pires whose activities involved the conservation of the caipira culture, disseminating it through publications, recordings, sound tracks, spectacles (scenes, music, guitar and musical groups) and propagating it on the radio. Contrastingly to the intense transformations in São Paulo, representations of plantations and life in the hinterland were emerging. They are actually different scenes in which the people of the Brazilian interior are sometimes praised and at other times criticized. Within this context, the life, works and artistic productions of Cornélia Pires are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]