Ruins are empty places filled with memories. These cement or rock skeletons can be the aftermath of a force of nature, environmental imbalance or human behaviour. Places may become the agents and bearers of memory even in its ravaged shapes. This paper is a result of a PhD investigation and it aims to discuss and interpret memories collected from ten residents from Bento Rodrigues, a rural district in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil. In November 2015, the village was destroyed by the collapse of an ore tailings dam owned by Samarco, one of the largest exporting companies in the country. The disaster killed 19 people, contaminated rivers and created a major ecological imbalance. Thousands of people who had their lives crushed by the crime are still waiting for judicial compensation. In the ruins of Bento Rodrigues, these ten residents tell their stories to the author. During oral history interviews, they remember their traditional way of life. Forced to move after the mining crime, these people lost their roots and now try to "act out" their trauma through speech. Remembering is a way of resistance. The paper also dialogues with a short video which exposes fragments of speech interwoven with pictures and scenes from the village's ruins. As a result, empty places are filled with meanings while being remembered.
