Fall 2020 Brazil Virtual Research Tour

"Also known as the Candomblé de rua, or Candomblé of the street, it is a street procession during Carnaval and a manifestation of Afro–Brazilian heritage with roots in the Yoruba people. Its members are linked to Candomblé temples of worship known as terreiros."
"The term“Afoxé” comes from the Yoruba language. It consists of three terms: “a”, the nominal prefix, “fo”, to say or pronounce, and “xé” which means to realize. According to Antonio Risério, afoxé means that ‘what is stated does happen.‘"
Link includes videos and photos.

"The afoxés and blocos afros of Salvador are closely linked aesthetically, variations upon an African theme, the afoxés as a matter of ancestry and culture, the blocos afros — initially anyway and in the case of Ilê Aiyê certainly still — as an expression of black empowerment inspired in part by the civil rights movement in the United States."

Site includes numerous links to listen to music, photographs, and a robust table of contents to learn about Bahia, Brazil ; music; dance; and activism.

"The musics of Brazil are as socially diverse and culturally mixed as its people. Yet, out of this assembly, sambain particular has emerged as a national cultural expression. Its combination of heterogeneous musical and cultural influences has enabled it to symbolise the buoyant diversity of the country itself. Samba is enacted most spectacularly in the Brazilian Carnival celebrations, which have captured the global imagination in its pulsating rhythms, its decadent revelry, its extroverted performativity and its extravagant exhibitionism. In the context of ‘World Music’, samba offers a powerful fusion of rhythm, dance and spectacle and, beyond its popularity on record and in performance, samba has become a staple popular music for parades, processions and even protest marches around the globe."

Compilation video with excerpts from contests of beautiful Brazilian samba dancers

Rio de Janeiro Carnival highlights.
The competition took place on March 3 and 4, 2019.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival highlights.
The competition took place on February 23 and 24, 2020. The Special Group of the Samba Schools Parade always happen on Sunday and Monday which is before Tuesday of carnival (mobile holiday that occurs 47 days before Easter, and which this year it is on February 25). On both nights, the parade starts at 9 o'clock and ends at sunrise.

"Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that was invented by slaves to disguise fighting with dance. Today it’s seen as a beautiful and soulful form of art, and it has caught on all over the world. Dalen Cuff of the Olympic Zone learned the basics, getting a feel for the strength and grace the art form requires. Watch students from the ABADA-Capoeira school in Rio perform a live demonstration on TODAY."

From Batalá Washington