LITTLE AFRICAS

Tia Amélia, in a rare record of her dressed in the typical clothing of the “tias”, was also born in Bahia. Her son Donga said that she carried the habit of opening up her house for “large samba gatherings” “in her blood”, so the fundamental references of one of the authors of “Pelo telefone” [Over the Telephone] are rooted in his childhood. This samba song was purportedly born in the samba circles at the home of Tia Ciata, who is represented here in the most widespread image of her, which has become an emblem of an entire culture’s struggle for affirmation and can be seen graffitied on the walls of Pequena África today.