It could have been just another dull TV ad featuring an Inca boy, Maori warriors, or Maasai dancers–heck, why not throw them all in there–and filed as such in the archives of car-plows-through-exotic-river-bed commercials.
Found Objects No.18
November 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
First released in 2003, Rappin’ Hood’s (real name: Antônio Luiz Junior) ‘Sou Negrão’ is one long tribute to the black Brazilian musicians who have contributed to the country’s 20th century music scene. The list of artists reads like a history lesson: Bezerra da Silva, Paulinho da Viola, Jorge Ben, Grande Otelo, João do Pulo, Raul de Souza, Pixinguinha, Cartola, Luiz Melodia, Milton Nascimento, Jackson do Pandeiro, Candeia, Aniceto, Martinho da Vila, Clementina de Jesus, Luiz Gonzaga, Jair Rodrigues, Ivo Meirelles, Jamelão, Dandara, Leci Brandão (that’s her in the video), Jovelina Pérola Negra, Dona Ivone Lara, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, Tim Maia, Sandra de Sá, rap pioneers DMN and Anderson 4P. But also: football legends Leônidas da Silva and Pelé, and Zumbi (‘the Malcom X from Brazil’). The non-Brazilians name-dropped are Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Bob Marley, BB King, Miles Davis, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and then maybe some I’ve missed.
Mapo do mundo
November 14, 2011 By 2 Comments
Remember the Mapping Stereotypes Project and the Afrographique project? (The former maps popular national stereotypes from around the world, while the latter turns any set of data about the continent into a graphic, including a series of maps.) A reader of this blog points us towards this “map” of stereotypes that’s been circulating online among Brazilians.
Here’s a translation for those who don’t speak Portuguese.
(Re)construções
April 4, 2011 By 3 Comments
Lawrence Lemaoana is one of 13 South African artists selected by curator Daniella Géo for the exhibition “Reconstruções: arte contemporânea da África do Sul” [Reconstructions: Contemporary Art from South Africa] running until 15 May at the Brazilian Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (yes, that Oscar Niemeyer building). One day they’ll organize an exhibition on contemporary South African art without the work of Goldblatt, Ballen, Kentridge or Mofokeng. One day.–Tom Devriendt
These People Have Been Contacted
March 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Wired.com, which usually knows better, has a photo gallery on its site that “takes you on a tour” of “the last uncontacted people.” What drove them to publish the images are “the release … last week of a tribe in southwest Brazil.” And because publishing images of people who didn’t necessarily permit their bodies and images to be used is for our collective good. The writer notes that most of these “uncontacted tribes” (he slips between “tribes” and “people” a lot) live in the Amazon, but also India and Peru, and “are often described as living fossils of Stone Age life, flash-frozen in time.” The post contains this disclaimer: “… Such descriptions are unfair: We don’t really know how people lived in the Stone Age, and there’s no reason to think that uncontacted cultures have not continued to evolve in their own unique ways.” It also contains “an Editor’s Note” accompanying a photo of “the tribe in southwest Brazil”: the machete in the photograph was likely obtained through trade with Indians who have made contact.” I also got my bread knife from some people who made contact with the local Walmart – who made contact with some people making knives in China.
Secrets of Slave Cities
March 5, 2011 By 2 Comments
What is it with these “facelifts” that tend to uncover the dirty sinews of yesteryear? Back in Cape Town, South Africa, as the “Mother City” attempted to cover up all its dirty divisions in preparation for meeting the requirements of the FIFA overlords, out came slave burial sites. Now, in Rio, as the city begins a massive cleanup leading to the 2016 Olympics, archaeologists have found the remains of one of the busiest slave ports, “a filthy, bustling harbour where hundreds of thousands of Africans were sold into a life of exploitation and abuse,” where hundreds of thousands of Africans were sold to plantation owners.
Obrigado, Pelé
June 30, 2010 By 3 Comments
What if Pelé had scored his final goal for Brazil, against Argentina? That’s the premise of 1284, the new short film starring 69-year old Pelé himself, which is ultimately a really touching tribute to the greatest footballer that ever lived.
The film was created by Young and Rubicam Brazil for Brazilian mobile telecommunications company and official national team sponsor, Vivo, and produced by Fernando Meirelles. It’s enough to make me forget The Constant Gardener.
h/t Shadow and Act
Timeless
April 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This blog does not waste any opportunities to post visuals of Mulatu Astatke performing.
Via Mochilla, where there is a lot of other videos of our favorite artists like Bilal and Jackson Conti.
The Full-Back
April 20, 2010 By 1 Comment
I am still on my pre-World Cup binge.
Brazil remains odds on favorites to win Africa’s first World Cup two months from now. BTW, it’s old news now but Brazil can also count on local support in South Africa: they’re South African fans’ favorite other team. Brazil play two group matches in Johannesburg–against North Korea on June 15 and Ivory Coast on June 20. Their final group game, against Portugal, will be in Durban in a stadium named after a great Communist leader of the struggle, Moses Mabhida. Anyway, this man, Maicon–here scoring a great goal against Juventus for his club Inter Milan in Italy’s Serie A last weekend–will be central to Brazilian plans. And he plays like a midfielder.
From Angola to Brazil
February 5, 2010 By 3 Comments
The music of Angolan resistance. (The link includes a reference to the work of Indiana University historian, Marissa Moorman, who has written extensively on Angolan popular culture).
