Familial, community, religious and artistic ties form the complex web of relationships that stretches from Little Africa, at the beginning of the twentieth century, to [today’s] streaming platforms. Mães-de-santo, musicians, […]

Food is a fundamental and inseparable feature in any activity related to Afro-diasporic culture, and samba activities in Rio de Janeiro reproduce and refresh the eating/drinking dynamics of African tradition. […]

Every year, around December 2, National Samba Day, Central do Brasil [Rio de Janeiro’s Central Station]) receives a different crowd. Trains are one of the most popular means of transportation […]

The founding of GRANES Quilombo in December of 1975 would have far-reaching repercussions in the world of samba and beyond. In May of 1977, the renowned magazine José: Literatura, Crítica […]

GRANES Quilombo had three courts, in the suburbs of Rocha Miranda, Coelho Neto and Acari, all of them simple, uncluttered and rich in cultural activities beyond those related to carnival. […]

“Quilombo was born out of the necessity of preserving all Afro influence in Brazilian culture. We want to draw the Brazilian people’s attention to the roots of Black Brazilian art.” […]

“Of the 7,000 constituents, I am 1”. This phrase, printed on the carnival block Cacique de Ramos’s emblem in the 1970s, attracted the visual artist Carlos Vergara’s attention to what […]

Cacique de Ramos’ most characteristic costume is a surprising synthesis of Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous roots as represented by Hollywood. The brothers Ubirajara, Ubiracy and Ubirany, who were among the block’s […]

As they lost ground in the samba schools’ courts, where the carnival parade’s theme song, the samba-enredo, began to take up all the attention, sambistas found the essential creative and […]

Born in Little Africa and its surroundings, it was on the train tracks that Carioca samba spread throughout the city and reached the suburbs, where the population pushed out of […]