By Paulo Mileno
Photo: Rafael Cusato / EGO
The theme of the plot will be the divided city
On the day when chaos reigns on the avenue
(…)
No one knows the strength of these people
It’s better the power to restore joy to these people
Or everyone will samba on the day
When the hill descends, and it’s not carnival
(…)
The day when the hill descends, and it’s not carnival
No one will remain to watch the final parade
At the entrance, burst of fireworks for those who’ve never seen
It will be with shotguns, machine guns, grenades, and rifles
Civil war
The day when the hill descends, and it’s not carnival
There won’t even be time for a dress rehearsal
Each section of the school will become a gang
The choreography will already be a guerrilla act
And the floats, a tremendous arsenal.”—The day when the hill descends, and it’s not carnival, Wilson das Neves
The rampant usurpation of white supremacy over Afro-Brazilian culture causes a lot of trouble for the people affected. An abstract scene. The white protagonist syndrome reaches sacred territories where they shouldn’t set foot.
In this sense, some Drum Queens are leading the cultural invasion in the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, corrupting the carnival judges, inverting the values of community representation, and resulting in political intervention by the “Jogo do Bicho”, a kind of the contravention, like this, it ends up contributing to the counter-revolution of the Black community in Brazil.
Traditionally, the Drum Queens have a central role in Carnival, representing a connection between the Samba School and the audience. Therefore, if a Drum Queen doesn’t know how to samba, it goes against the continuity of popular tradition and causes a rupture with their ancestral heritage.
Moreover, the appropriation has gone beyond the minds and hearts of Brazilian Carnival. However, it has stagnated in the feeling, in the contagious energy, in the experience, and, mainly, in the corporality.
It’s impossible to fake it. Either you know how to samba, or you don’t it.
Workshops, intensive summer courses, ballroom dance academies offer, at most, the basic technique. The swing is talent.
On the one hand, the impact on Black communities and their cultural traditions undergoes a shake-up. On the other hand, it’s not entirely bad for the Samba School.
Indeed, the presence of the Drum Queen, even without any connection with the world of samba, has been profitable for the Samba School and the entire productive chain of the Carnival business.
Furthermore, being the Drum Queen as an actress, singer, model or digital influencer, their presence at the Samba School’s rehearsals, street rehearsals, and the parade on the avenue attracts hundreds of journalists, press agents, TV reporters, and other media visibility. It becomes “The greatest show on Earth!”
Photo: Reproduction Samba Abstrato’s page on Facebook
From journalist specialized in Carnival to celebrity gossip columnists, everyone is focused on Carnival and its abstract muses.
Unfortunately, since the second half of the 20th century began, the Samba School parades in Rio de Janeiro have ceased to be a celebration of the people and just became an attraction for the elites. In Rio de Janeiro, those who want to parade need to go through hardships to enter the Marquês de Sapucaí and wait beside the foul-smelling ditch of Avenida Presidente Vargas.
The leadership positions, such as the presidency, the “carnavalescos,” and the board, are all well-paid and the positions are all held by white individuals, leaving people of color further back in parades meant to celebrate them.
Abstract Muses pay a lot of money to be Drum Queen and Carnival brings in a lot of money. It’s a celebration that generated over 8 billion Brazilian Reais (Brazilian currency) in 2023, filling cities and boosting the entire tourisim-driven production chain.
Here is the problem. Carnival has become a party to “for the English to see” like a Brazilian expression, which means it’s become something to go to for appearances’ sake, rather than the traditional celebration it started out as. An Abstract Samba.
Finally, we should question this turnaround of Carnival in the last 50 years to reclaim the evolution of this popular manifestation. At an artistic discourse level, at least some “carnavalescos” like Paulo Barros and Leandro Vieira, among others, have been looking back, and giving voice to the power of the slum, resistance, and ancestry.
Photo: Reproduction of Jornal do Brasil
Photo: Márcio Alves (O Globo Agency)
Photo: Fabio Motta
As a result, what remains is the integration of the harmonious sound carried by the drum section, the heart of the Samba School, intertwined with contagious by the ‘asé’ of magical beats.
Outsiders don’t have natural talent. They don’t have the experience. As Wilson das Neves says in his lyrics, ‘Samba is my Don’:
“Samba is my don
I learned to dance samba watching a samba from the ground up
At Império Serrano, the school of my passion
In the Terreiro, in the street, in the gafieira bar, and in the ballroom”—The Samba is my Don, Wilson das Neves
Paulo Mileno is an actor, filmmaker, cultural producer, writer, editorial advisor of Africa and Africanities Magazine and he was researcher in the Nucleus of African Philosophy at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Mileno also writes to Observatório da Imprensa (São Paulo – Brazil), Brasil de Fato (São Paulo – Brazil), Jornal do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro – Brazil), Black History Month (London – England), Ufahamu: A Journal of Black Studies from Los Angeles University -UCLA (Los Angeles – USA), San Francisco National Black Newspaper (San Francisco – USA), Black Star News (New York – USA) and Africa Business (Cape Town – South Africa). Reach him via [email protected]
