A middle-aged man living absolutely alone for nearly 40 years in an improvised stone house in the middle of the woods and waterfalls. Without formal education nor a paid work, he lives on subsistence agriculture with virtually none material possession.

Technologically disconnected from the outside world, he has no TV, telephone or Internet. Neither he has access to essential services, let alone those comfort items “indispensable” to modern life.

Isolated, yet not invisible, Astrogildo Santos, the “lord of the Abandoned Castle” in Diamantina Plateau (BA), was visited and interviewed by the 2022 Population Census, thanks to the determination and commitment of enumerator Jamille Moraes and the data collection team in the municipality of Itaetê (far 387 km from Salvador).

As everyone counts and each people is indispensable for the widest and most detailed picture of Brazil.

Aiming at not leaving anyone behind, Moraes struggled to find Santos in the heart of the Diamantina Plateau National Park, where he, currently a 52-year old man, lives since he was 15.

The place where Santos lives is idyllic, in the middle of the waterfalls of the region, though so isolated that it was not in the preliminary address list of that enumeration area. It was like he didn´t exist.

Yet, a clerk from Itaetê City Hall warned the local sub-area coordination on that resident, and Moraes knew that even a single person could not be outside the Census.

“Having that information, I check with those in charge of the municipality how to reach the waterfalls, in order to better know his location. This was due to the logistics we had to follow to enter the enumeration area and arrive at his house,” explained the enumerator. She covered with a motorcycle the 23-km distance between the data collection station, located in the district of Rumo, and Enchanted Waterfall. From there, a 20-minute walk accompanied by a local guide took her until Santos´s house, where she eventually carried out the interview.

Moraes told what she saw there. “He hasn´t any income, he lives on what he plants. He built his house in a cave, part as a bedroom, made of stucco and clay, part only with unplastered rods.”

Despite all the difficulties, like rain and bad roads, the enumerator considers the interview with Santos more than accomplishing a mission, but a “privilege”: “It was an honor to contribute to the 2022 Census,” said her.

After interviewing Santos, Moraes found out that his story was so unique that it was the theme of the “Abandoned Castle” documentary, directed by Felipe Carrelli and launched in 2020. The movie is available on YouTube.