Youth participation through street arts

I arrived home from Brazil following a grueling 31 hour journey in the early hours on 22nd December. I have had an unforgettable experience, a real chance in a lifetime and I wanted to publicly thank everyone who has made it possible. I have been reflecting on the diversity of my fellowship – it has been a thrilling experience, from touring tiny, rural villages in Sardinia, French myths in Angers, favelas in Rio and the laid back life of Florianopolis. I have encountered a huge variety of people and lifestyles and have learnt so much.

I have so many people who I should thank – and I do apologise if I miss anyone off the list (and also if it starts to sound like an Oscar speech!) - but I really am so very grateful for this fantastic experience and do want to publicly acknowledge all those who helped me along the way.

I obviously want to extend my genuine thanks to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust without whom this simply would not have happened. Thank you especially to Julia and to Jamie who have been extraordinarily helpful and supportive, thank you so much. I want to thank my work – Find Your Talent – PUSH for allowing me the time to go and also to their many encouraging posts on my blog! I have many more people I’d like to thank so have split the thank -yous into countries below:

UK

Ros Fry – for her encouragement and brilliant contacts!

Kate White – for support and encouragement

Rachel Clare – for European contacts and advice on festivals

Adrian Evans – for fantastic advice and contacts for both phase 1 and 2

Andrew Bishop – for all his brilliant help with Brazilian contacts

Paul Heritage – for his amazing help and putting me in touch with Joao – thank you so much

Susan Haedicke - her advice on outdoor work and for putting me in touch with Michele Kramers

Lynda Rolfe - For putting me in contact with Ida Mara in Florianopolis

Tony Horitz and Sharon Muiruri – for putting me in contact with Marcia, thank you both so very much

Sardinia

Theatre en Vol and especially the wonderful Michele Kramers

France

All of Compagnie Jo Bithume

Brazil

Joao Rocha – the fellowship would not have been the same without you – thank you so much!

President of the Neighbourhood Association of the Mangueira Samba School – Simlar

Ida Mara Freire – for being so kind and welcoming

Marcia Pompeo (and Marcello) – you were amazing to me, thank you so very much

All the projects that I visited and people that I interviewed – thank you so much for hosting me.

I’m sure I’ve mistakenly missed people off the list and I am sorry for that. But please know that I am very grateful for this opportunity and very much hope that I can use some of what I have learnt in the UK.

In my final week in Rio I visited two NGOs who are fairly famous in the UK – Afro Reggae and the theatre group Nos do Morro. Neither of them, I admit, work specifically in outdoor arts, but as they are so famous and also pioneering in the work they undertake with young people, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that I had to visit their projects, albeit briefly. Afro Reggae is a particularly famous group who undertake a variety of work with young people and have toured to the UK successfully on several occasions. Afro Reggae work in a variety of art forms, most famously music. I visited their base in Cantagalo which is the site of their circus school.

I must admit to be really quite nervous when I first arrived at the favela as this was the first time that my guide did not know where we were going, so, instead of being delivered directly to the project door we hung around on a street in the middle of the favela. I didn’t feel particularly safe as I wasn’t even with a local – my translator had never been to Cantagalo before. Eventually, after waiting for what seemed like a very long time (but probably wasn’t) a representative from Afro Reggae arrived and led us to the circus school. It was in a complex of buildings that housed quite a few projects including a boxing school. The view from the circus school was amazing – and gave an excellent visual depiction of the divide between rich and poor in Rio. In the distance was Ipanema beach, the richest of Rio’s neighbourhoods with its high-rise expensive flats, and immediately below was the favela of Cantagalo, hidden from the rich neighbourhood.

I watched the rehearsal for the young people’s Christmas show – a performance that would take place in their space and be performed to the Cantagalo favela community. I was amazed and impressed by the skill of the young people. It was really quite fantastic – there were a huge range of ages from little ones probably about 7 years old to older teenagers. It was evident that many of the young people had grown up with the school and had learned skills as they progressed. They performed on the tissues, acrobatics, dance and trapeze. I talked to some of the younger girls (they were ten) waiting for their turn to perform – I asked them why they came to the circus school – they replied that their friends attended so they wanted to go. They were absolutely adorable and were fascinated by the fact that I came from England and were obsessed by snow and were thrilled by a picture I showed them of snow in my garden! They were also very interested in my digital camera and it made me realise how little they actually had – although they seemed extremely happy. After the rehearsal I got the chance to talk very briefly to the choreographer/Director of the Christmas performance. I asked her why they chose to work in the circus medium. Personally I am very interested in circus – it is a traditional outdoor, travelling art form and is now so closely aligned to physical theatre. However, it isn’t necessarily a particularly traditional or popular art form. She explained that all their art forms came from demand from the community. The Cantagalo community had asked to learn circus skills so Afro Reggae had provided a base to do just this. I was quite amazed – I hadn’t realised that the art forms were chosen by the community. The other art forms that Afro Reggae teach across favelas in Rio are music, theatre, dance/hip hope and percussion. They all aim to engage young people and bring them happiness.

Following the rehearsal my guide gave me a tour of the Cantagalo favela. It wasn’t the nicest experience. To start with it was fine – he showed me around the Circus base (there was all sorts there including a swimming pool that the young people were in and fantastic views of the city). However as we went further and further into the favela I felt less and less safe – my guide and translator were marching on ahead leaving me to navigate tiny narrow streets and steep hills. Signs of poverty were all around me and the streets were lined with young men holding guns. I must admit to feeling very uneasy. Again I felt I very much stood out and rather than being on main streets I was being drawn into the back streets of the favela. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I was probably fine but I couldn’t get used to the reality of guns in the arms of young people. As it was also getting dark by this point I asked to go home. I was very relieved to get back to my accommodation. It was a reality check for me on the types of environment I was entering – I think in some ways I’d become a little complacent – I have to remember that these are dangerous places.

My visit to Nos do Morro, in contrast, was a delightful experience. Nos do Morro are a young people’s theatre company that started about 20 years ago. Nos do Morro are based in the Vidigal community which is perched on a hillside overlooking Leblon and Ipanema (rich neighbourhoods). As with Cantagalo, the views are amazing – in any other country it would be the rich that live with such views. In Rio however they do have problems with landslides and therefore those that are living in the favelas do have to work hard to ensure that their houses are not swallowed up by the hillsides. Nos do Morro is based in a beautiful house built into the hillside. It has fantastic accommodation (I got a tour!) with a variety of rehearsal spaces as well as a library. The house itself is set in some beautiful tropical gardens and it felt as though I was in paradise, it was so tranquil and beautiful.

Nos do Morro is a company rooted in the community and creates performances for the community, by the community. They work with a variety of texts, from Shakespeare to Moliere and also occasionally devise their own work.  I was fortunate enough to meet and conduct an in-depth interview with Zeze Silva, one of the founding artistic directors of the group. She explained to me how Nos do Morro had been formed and how it serves the community. What is interesting is that I also spoke to my contact in Florianopolis about Nos do Morros, explaining that I hoped to visit the project when I returned to Rio. In Brazil at least it is perceived that Nos do Morro itself is now slightly distant from the community – in some ways it is a victim of its own success. It has been so successful (many actors from Nos do Morro performed in the film City of God – and they have also toured work to the UK (they’ve performed at the Barbican as well as RSC) that is some ways it has drifted from its roots. Interestingly Zeze is now undertaking a PhD looking at this phenomenon and how Nos do Morro can re-integrate itself into the Vidigal community.

Following my interview (which I will write about in depth in my report) Zeze presented me with a beautiful book that has been produced to celebrate 20 years of Nos do Morro. It is a stunning piece of work which illustrates beautifully the exciting work this theatre company has produced but also where it has evolved from – the favela. The base of Nos do Morro is almost like a embryonic version of Rio itself, when you are enclosed in the ‘paradise’ of the theatre’s base, it is easy to forget the harsh realities of the world outside – but directly outside the door is a favela which, more than any other I had visited, looked ‘poor’ – had guns on the street – and one that suffered many problems. I was told by my translator that the last time she had visited open gun fire had begun and all the children had to hide in a room at the bottom of the house with extra thick walls to protect them from the gun fire. They were there for four hours – a stark reminder of where I was.

I returned to Rio at the weekend and it has been quite a shock. I feel as though I have been living in some kind of bubble for the last week and a half and have come down to earth with a jolt. It’s not as though I didn’t know what to expect, after all in my first week in Rio I spent every day in a favela. I think it was such a shock because I have seen more of Brazil (only a corner, granted, but still more) and therefore the injustice that is so prevalent in Rio appeared more immediate and unusual. The drive from the airport to where I am staying (a different, grittier part of the city) was, for me, quite emotional. There was mile-upon-mile of favelas with young boys selling globo (a kind of crisp) in the middle of the motorway, weaving in and out of cars travelling at 70mph. It seemed so wrong to me, why should children be selling crisps on the middle of a motorway?!

I have spent the last week and a half on an island that is, at least on the surface, rich. I have also spent it meeting ‘normal’ Brazilians in restaurants, universities, shops etc and I have learnt more of the general attitude towards the favelas. Comments I have heard have ranged from ‘being on the island has enabled you to see how ‘normal’ Brazilians lead their lives’ (implying those in the favelas aren’t ‘normal’), ‘I’ve heard those places are ok if you go with a guide’ (from a carioca!) to ‘the only way to deal with the favelas in Rio is to turn on a large tap and drown everyone living in them.’ But these attitudes don’t match with what I have seen of Rio – people living in the favelas are just really, really poor people, rubbing shoulders with rich people who seem to think the best solution is to turn a blind eye. I find it all so strange. There are a small minority who are dangerous (and desperate) but as I have indicated in previous blog entries, many are just trying to struggle on with life; they’re not to blame for their position. Yes, in Britain there is poverty and yes we have problems that we ignore but the favelas are so omnipresent – they are in your face at nearly all times in the city – and thousands upon thousands of people must live in them – it seems peculiar and perverse to just ignore them. Rio to me, at the moment is a crazy city, it doesn’t make sense. And another thing I have noticed is that the favelas aren’t marked on maps. Perhaps it is because I am looking at maps that have been given to me as a tourist, but still I felt it is another indication of how the problem is dealt with – just don’t admit they exist and they will cease to exist in the mind.  

This of course is just the impression I have got from only being here three weeks and may be totally inaccurate. And I know for a fact, through the projects that I have visited, that there are many wonderful Brazilians who work hard every day to improve the situation. And there is so much that we in the UK can learn about how these projects engage with disadvantaged communities and use culture to reach out to young people. It may just be the minority of people that ignore the situation. And of course, as I have indicated in previous blog entries, many members of the favelas are very happy and apparently, in comparison to those people living in favelas in the North East of Brazil, are relatively well off. I think for me it is the huge juxtaposition that this city presents – how closely rich and poor live. I’m not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.

On Tuesday night I re-visited the Ta na Rua rehearsal. This time it didn’t rain! I met Amir Hamaad  but unfortunately he didn’t have time to give me an interview but I was fortunate enough to watch him work. He was running a workshop to enable his members to explore their creativity in advance of preparations for their Christmas show. It was fun and interesting to watch – costumes were dotted around the arena (a space outside in Lapa) and music was played, the ‘cast’ danced around the space picking up various costumes to wear depending on the mood of the piece. Amir would then ‘direct’ their movements by introducing themes such as snow, papa noel (they were all Christmas themes) and the company would respond. The company is a community theatre company and a spectrum of ages was represented at the workshop. The space that Ta na Rua have chosen is interesting. It is in the middle of Lapa – an area renowned for prostitution, drugs and violence. Before they could start the rehearsal they cleared the space of glass – an ominous reminder of the more usual activity that takes place on the streets of Lapa. It was interesting to watch a crowd gather as the rehearsal progressed – it was a bizarre mix of homeless people and young kids. It certainly drew together diverse groups from the community but I am not sure that it was making the streets much safer yet – although I think it was contributing towards a certain sense of safety and distraction – whilst people were watching the rehearsal they couldn’t be getting up to much else! In my naivety I don’t think I had quite realised that Lapa was such a dangerous area. Some of the people I was with told me about several robberies they had experienced and I started to feel a little on edge. After the rehearsal we went for a juice at a nearby cafe. As if on cue, to illustrate to me that this was not a safe area, we were halfway through our drinks when a man started to severely beat up another man – right outside the cafe we were at, a few metres from us. It was really horrible to see and I felt so completely useless. The people I was with shouted out comments to draw attention to what was happening but couldn’t make a big fuss as in a situation like that it is often more dangerous to intervene. The odd thing was we had passed a police van – so the police would have been able to see but did not do anything. It was really savage and I was really quite shaken up – I made quite a swift exit to go home. After the relative safety of the ilha de Santa Catarina Rio’s rougher side has been sharply brought to my attention.

Another project that I have visited on the ilha de Santa Catarina is FUFA – a kind of support-come-study group for those engaged in community theatre. It is a group who meet weekly to discuss ideas, share good practice, devise and develop pieces of theatre as well as talk about and practice different methodologies. It is led by Marcia Pompeo who is a Professor in Community Theatre at UDESC (the State University of Santa Catarina) who was a wonderful and warm host to me. FUFA consists of a very diverse group of people of all ages and professions from undergraduate students to those whose careers started far from theatre (for example oceanography). I was particularly interested in this group as it is nurturing a seventeen year old community theatre leader which I find fascinating in terms of youth cultural leadership.

The meeting I attended was the last of the year and they were predominantly trying to work out dates to meet over the summer and carnaval season (which seemed an impossible task) but I had the opportunity to again share my fellowship with this diverse group of individuals through a presentation and also talk briefly to Phillipe, the 17 year old leader. Phillipe is still at school studying the equivalent of his AS –Levels at secondary school, he is passionate about theatre and whilst running a workshop at his school Marcia spotted him as demonstrating this passion. She invited him to join FUFA where he is now running a community theatre project in a deprived community on the island. He finds the work challenging, and the FUFA group particularly tough as he is mixing with people who are studying for MAs and PHDs. But Phillipe is an excellent example of how the arts (and especially theatre) can help to change lives – even just a little. Before he started to participate in theatre he was shy and retiring. Now he feels that theatre has enabled him to explore his own strengths and weaknesses and has helped him to develop as a person. Being part of FUFA has really helped him and he explained that he attended the group as it gives him the opportunity to engage with a wide variety of people. Although sometimes the conversations go over his head, FUFA has enabled him to develop both his theatrical practice but perhaps more importantly his confidence and ability to communicate.

I found it fascinating that Marcia was investing time and expertise into Phillipe and think that it shows real foresight. Cultural leadership, especially for young people, is very much a buzz word in the UK and I think that perhaps we need to be braver and allow young people to just get on with it. Through this support group Phillipe is being supported when and if he needs it but at arm’s length so that he is given room to develop his own creative methods with the community group he is working with. This isn’t tokenistic leadership; it is allowing him to develop at his own pace but with a safety net in place in case he falls. Admitedly this is just one young leader, and to do this for many young people may prove more challenging, but perhaps a model such as FUFA would be a good starting point to see real young cultural leaders develop. I think we need to adopt the Brazilian mentality – relax and just see what happens!

As well as undertaking formal research I have also been undertaking research through the warm reception of my hosts here on the ilha de Santa Catarina who have enabled me to see island life through the eyes of a native. On Monday I did a presentation about my Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to a group of MA Students studying Dance and Theatre. It was an interesting experience especially as many of them didn’t speak English! Luckily one student had recently lived in England so we managed. It was really great to share my experiences so far and they were particularly interested in my fellowship to Europe (to them Sardinia and France seemed exotic) and it was a great opportunity to exchange ideas. It was also a fantastic opportunity to tell them more about the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and Winston Churchill himself – they were fascinated and went away with ideas of trying to set up something similar in Brazil! The occasion was also interesting as it took place at my host’s house and each student had cooked and prepared a course of food. It was really informal and following my presentation we all ate lunch together. They then shared with me a project that they had been working on – a dance project with partially sighted people which was really interesting – and opened my mind to new experiences.

Through my other host on the island I have attended my first ever samba! It was so much fun and demonstrates why Brazilians are so good at dancing. It took place at what seemed to me a private house (it was so small) but I was assured by my host that it was actually a public bar. It was crammed full of people and as a live band played in the corner of the room people danced. But it wasn’t like a night club in Britain – people were often dancing in pairs, demonstrating their skills to others, then they would move onto someone else. There wasn’t any rowdiness – just people having fun! They served food such as crab cakes and chips and there was a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I have to say that again I felt embarrassed by my lack of dancing skills although I did my best to join in! Attending a samba also brought home to me why samba dancing is so integral to many carnivals – samba dancing is a way of life, it is in the Brazilian blood stream, from small children to older adults, it’s in their soul!

I’ve been having a busy time here on the ilha de Santa Catarina and this week watched a technical rehearsal by the Lagoa Samba School. The rehearsal took place outside in the square of Lagoa de Conceicao. Lagoa de Conceicao is a medium sized town on the island that is a busy hub for every day inhabitants on the island. The samba school started rehearsing outside just last week (previous to that they rehearsed in their school) and the impact on the community is noticeable in terms of local engagement with the inhabitants.

The rehearsal was a fantastic experience; it started at 8pm and continued until 11pm. They rehearse outside three times a week (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays), each time for a 3 hour stint. The rehearsal that I watched was just for the bateria (the percussion section) and the noise was incredible. Most participants wore ear-plugs and I must admit, despite enjoying the performance, I put my fingers in my ears to numb the sound slightly! What was interesting was even though this was purely a rehearsal a crowd gathered to watch. The crowd was of all ages – and in fact I would say that young people made up the majority of those who were watching. They sat in awe of the bateria and many were sporting one of the samba school shirts. Being a member of the samba school is evidently a respected and enviable position for young people on the island and, like Mangueira, encouraged young people to participate in something positive. Also, like Mangueira the energy was infectious. Although this was a rehearsal (and a bad one according to one of the participants) I found myself tapping my foot to the beat and feeling quite exhilarated by the music created. I can only imagine that carnaval itself must be an incredible experience.

Carnaval however is extremely serious in Brasil. The commitment and dedication that members have to give is extreme. Not only do they have to rehearse for three hours flat three times a week but it is a strict business. The ‘conductor’ (I’m sure he’s not called this but that was ultimately his role) kept a tight reign on participants by using a whistle (a little like a football referee!), hand-signals and shouting. He was very strict, stopping the rehearsal several times to ensure that certain sections of the bateria were up to speed. Indeed, talking to one of the participants afterwards she explained that the bateria was very male in terms of its approach and territory. She felt that members occasionally didn’t understand that perhaps participants hadn’t quite grasped the routine and that the constant shouting didn’t help. In addition to the ‘conductor’ at the front there were several ‘junior conductors’ who orchestrated different sections of the bateria under the main conductor’s instruction, encouraging and instructing from the ground. It was quite an operation.

However, this is a competition. Unlike Baiacu which is a community group and is not competitive, the samba schools on the island run a competition much like in Rio. There are now five samba schools on the island and this February they will compete to win at the sambodromo in Florianopolis. The competition brings an interesting element to carnaval transforming it from something that could be quite amateur to a serious, professional art form and the competitive element is akin to sports competitions. In general I think the competitive element is a good thing as it does ensure quality in the art form but I can’t help thinking that the (sometimes aggressive) competition may put some people off. One of my contacts in Florianopolis had judged carnaval one year and explained that you had to be very careful and very fair as a judge otherwise you could be persecuted by the community!

Whilst here on the Ilha de Santa Catarina I have been engaging with and exploring a different kind of Carnaval to the Manguiera model I researched in Rio de Janeiro. This is a much smaller model that is embedded into the community in a very different way. The Associacao Cultural Baiacu de Alguem (known simply as ‘Baiacu’ to locals) is a bloco (a group that consists of a procession of drummers, vocalists and in this bloco giant dolls that creates a carnival procession) that serves the small village of Santo Antonio de Lisboa and was set up in response to a direct need from the local community. On Thursday night I attended one of their group meetings and this week I interviewed one of the founding members and now artistic director of the project, Daniela Schneider.

I asked her about the aims and objectives of the project and how it was first set up. She explained that in 1992 an artistic movement was growing in the community – there were many members in the community who were developing artistic skills in percussion, singing and costume making. They created an informal ‘bloco’ which developed and in 2007 became an official carnival group. Amazingly, in response to this growing movement, Dani and her husband decided to create a project and opened up their own house to the community. They started the bloco Baiacu which, each year, creates a small carnival procession which parades down just one small road through the village. This bloco is also different to Manguiera in that it isn’t a school and is therefore not in competition – the community who participate simply take part to have fun. My guide and translator, Marta Silva, explained that she first joined to learn how to play the tambourine with ambitions to play for one of the samba schools on the island, but loved being part of Baiacu so much that she stayed with the bloco and has been playing for them for four years. The aim of the Baiacu is to empower the residents of Saint Antonio de Lisboa, especially adolescents and young people in the community, and maintain Brazilian musical heritage. They do this through building relationships between the community members through culture, promoting the role of young people as leaders and enabling them to learn citizenship skills through culture and the promotion of community participation.

The bloco has three main strands of work – the batteria (percussion), the creation of giant dolls and youth work.  From about the beginning of December/end of November to February each year Daniela and her husband, Nelson open up their house to the community – the first meetings that take place are ‘launch’ meetings for the upcoming carnaval season (in this case 2010). The meeting I attended was the third one of the season. It was a real experience and one that I can’t really imagine taking place in the UK! They literally transform their garden into a space for the public – with chairs and tables set up they provide a bar and freshly cooked food (the closest British equivalent I can think of is a garden fête but this doesn’t quite do it justice). They have converted one their buildings into a workshops where I was shown the costume work that they undertake (the creation of giant dolls) – they store and run workshops in this space. They are also developing another space, and have just received government funding, to transform a run-down garage into a space to hold workshops for young people. The evening didn’t really kick off until about 10pm and consisted of a film being shown of a great samba star, followed by live music from local musicians. I didn’t stay the whole night but I left as people were dancing and drinking plenty of cachaca!

One of the giant dolls

Again, I was interested in how this work is funded and asked Daniela how they financially support the project. They have recently been successful in applying for a grant from the government ‘points of culture’ scheme. Points of Culture is a national network that supports hundreds of Brazilian cultural organizations (including Ta na rua who I visited in Rio). The federal government funds groups and organizations that are using culture to enable social inclusion, education and professional development to those people living in poor areas of the country. The Points of Culture Network also funds youth initiatives as young people (eerily reflecting the state of young people in Britain) have least access to culture and are the largest sector of society to be unemployed with currently about 48% of young people unemployed between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. Baiacu have received funding from this scheme specifically for their youth work which they started to develop this year. The youth work, although is integrally linked to the bloco, is also separate to the bloco and therefore the points of culture funding does not fund the work that the bloco undertakes. The bloco is funded by local fund-raising. Each time they open up their house they charge for entry and produce t-shirts for the community to buy – they then have to be wearing these t-shirts to enter the ‘party’ and the carnival procession.

The youth work they undertake is a series of workshops in music, creation of dolls, animation, multi-media, hip-hop with the aim of integrating youth into the community and strengthening the identity of the community. They started working with young people in 2008 (and it is therefore still a relatively young project) and work with approximately 50 young people aged between 10 and 16 years old. The work is helping to consolidate the work and direction of the bloco. They work in partnership with other projects on the island to put together activities and ran a cultural week in June 2009.They are also organizing community Christmas activities with ‘Santa’s grotto and a community dinner in the streets. Daniella explained that many families do not prioritize culture in their lives as they do not have to financial resources to do so, this project enables young people to experience culture that they would not normally have access to. An important part of their work with young people is also a ‘go and see’ scheme where they visit other cultural projects on the island such as a community radio station in Campeche (South of the island). The young people then write about their experiences and reflect on culture in their country on a blog set up specifically for the project. So far this work has been sponsored by the Lutheran Foundation but from January 2010, by partnering with other cultural and social projects on the island, they will be funded by Points of Culture.

Blog link:

http://www.pescadoresdecultura2009.blogspot.com

I have been on the ilha de Santa Catarina for a week now and feel as though I have arrived to a land of hammocks, beaches and cachaca (a very strong Brazilian spirit). The pace of life is undeniably laid-back and is a huge contrast to the bustling, chaotic city of Rio de Janeiro. So much so sometimes I wonder that they are part of the same country! The Ilha de Santa Catarina is a fascinating place however that embraces both rural and urban life with the bustling metropolis of Florianopolis to the west of the island linking it to the mainland.

As idyllic as it sounds it too has its own social problems as I have been discovering. On the surface the island is rich with large houses that wouldn’t look out of place in North America. However, hidden beneath the surface is a huge divide between rich and poor – as the rich get richer (this is one the richest states in Brazil), the poor get poorer. And unlike in Rio where the rich and poor live hand-in-hand and side by side, here in Florianopolis it isn’t so simple.

The favelas here in Florianopolis (and I was surprised to discover that there are favelas) are more hidden than in Rio and also seem poorer with some young people living directly on the streets. Professor Maristela Fantin who I spoke to explained that Florianopolis is ‘a city with little investment in health or education, with children dying on the pavements … in short, a city of death, drugs and violence for many.’ She is part of a project that is trying to combat this and raise awareness of this socio-economic divide; it is called ‘Movimento Abracando a Vida’ which roughly translates as ‘Movement for embracing Life’. It is a project that  creates safer spaces for young people living on the streets with basic needs such as shelter, food etc.  The project, set up 10 years ago, aims to raise awareness of the poverty that exists on the Ilha de Santa Catarina and especially in the city of Florianopolis. The project takes place outdoors and encourages young people, families and communities to take part in artistic activities to raise awareness of the plight of street children but also to transform the spaces into safer places. The project is open to all and they take part in activities such as kite making, crafts, drumming, poetry recitals and so on. The project takes place in different parts of the island so to raise awareness throughout the island and to ensure that the poverty that exists here does not remain hidden.

For my final visit to the Mangueira samba school I was given the opportunity to watch an evening rehearsal. The samba school had recently chosen the song for the 2010 carnival and this rehearsal was to teach the song and the accompanying dance moves to the community. Each year the school runs a competition to decide the samba school song. Normally the competition is only open to a number of select people but this year they opened it up to all those in the community. They had 78 entries. My guide, the President of the Community Association, had entered a song and came 5^th in the competition. He introduced me to the composer of the winning song. He was a very modest and sweet man but the pride and exhilaration he showed was overwhelming. He was absolutely overjoyed to have been selected as the winner. I asked him what it had felt like to win and he replied that even holding his first born child was not comparable to winning the competition! He was undeniably thrilled. I also asked him if he was from the Mangueira community – he replied that he came from a neighbourhood close by but hat Mangueria was always in his heart. He was so passionate about the samba school. I was also introduced to one of the grandchildren of the founding members of the samba school. Now herself in her 60s it was an honour to meet her.

Then followed a lot of noise and confusion as the leaders tried to organise the now throngs of community members into groups. As I said in my last entry the parade is split into eight different groups, each whom tell a different part of the story (this year the history of music). The leaders assembled each group by their relevant group number to begin the rehearsal. The community members seemed to consist of all ages from young children, teenagers, mums and older people. Each person had a huge grin on their face! At first I was privileged enough to watch from the VIP area, which was lovely but felt quite far away from the action. So soon we moved down into the main performance space, near the front. The experience was exhilarating. I can see how infectious carnival is! It really was amazing, the pictures don’t do it justice and it is hard to translate the atmosphere into words.  The community were singing, over and over again, at the top of their voices the Mangueira samba school song. They waved their hands in the air, danced and danced and danced (by the way, much to my embarrassment I think everyone is that room, even those more than a quarter my age, were much more skilful dancers than  me!). The joy, passion, enthusiasm and pride that came from that unison of voices is unlike anything I have seen before. If we want to bring together families and communities this is what Britain needs!

I reflected on whether we would be able to replicate something like this is the UK and I’m not sure. Carnival is so rooted in the Brazilian community, having grown from the favelas in a response to their Afro-Brazilian roots. I’m not sure that we could totally replicate it. Plus, have you seen a Brazilian dance?! I think we have too much British reserve! However, the essence of what carnival brings – that sense of joy, belonging, community pride and importantly inter-generational unity is something I think could and should be transferred to the UK. I think that in the UK where families appear to be fractured, youth are categorised and separated from the rest of the community and the old are perceived as alien and often ignored, it is something that Britain desperately needs. And I think that carnival, if adapted in its own British way, could contribute towards a more cohesive and inter-grated community.

As I watched the rehearsal I interviewed/chatted to the President of the Community Association, Silmar, known as ‘the fireman’ to the community as he served as a fire-fighter for many years. As President of the Community Association it is his job to represent the community in an outward-facing role. It is he who brings the needs of the samba school to the attention of the government. I asked him about the aims and objectives of their work with young people in the samba school. The key aim is to engage young people in something positive. As they live in such a deprived community the temptation of drug trafficking and violence is always present – this offers young people something to do. This is not to say that if the samba school did not exist all young people would become involved in crime and violence (and they have to be careful how they market themselves) but it a positive, free activity that all young people can be involved in. And the emphasis on all is important as I asked about entry requirements in terms of skill and ability. Talent does not matter so much –what is important is commitment to the school, to attend every rehearsal and have fun.  The education that young people are given in the favelas is not necessarily to a high standard. The schools (as I had seen in Mare) are often poorly resourced  (the school I saw in Mare was little more than a tin hut) – therefore the samba school offers them something more, it raises aspirations and teaches young people community spirit.

With everything provided for free for the community I was interested in how the samba school was funded. As with many of the NGOs I have visited in Rio, private sponsorship seems to be their main source of income with Petrobras (a petrol company) supporting many of the artistic, social projects in the favela communities. The samba school however also raise money through various alternative methods such as selling merchandise from their shop, selling their costumes to those outside the community (including international visitors) who want to participate in carnival, as well as charging for entry into their Saturday night open rehearsals.

I was also interested in the space used for performance and the ‘outside’ aspect of the carnival (the samba school was a half-way house – a solid venue but with half a roof). Each Sunday, starting from about this time of year, they take the rehearsals onto the street outside the school. This enables them to practice outside but also brings the celebration into the heart of the community. As I have written so often in this blog, it enables those people who wouldn’t normally necessarily engage with culture a taste of a cultural experience. It also brings the art form back to its roots – the streets. On the 6^th December (when I shall be in Florainopolis unfortunately) they have their technical rehearsal at the samba-drome.

I had to take a small reality check here. Carnival isn’t until February – 12^th 16^th February 2010 to be exact. It is almost three months away and they are already having a technical rehearsal. Carnival is evidently a serious business – but also an elaborate one that needs a lot of practice and dedication. And seeing the rehearsal (just a tiny snippet) made my heart ache to see the real thing! But the quality doesn’t come easily; they have been rehearsing weekly (more frequently as the date grows nearer) since June. And when the date itself arrives each school takes one hour and twenty minutes to perform their routine – that is a long time to dance, drum and sing – but I am convinced that it is magical!

On Monday I flew to the Florianopolis on the Ilha de Santa Catarina which is about two hours south of Rio. It is very different here and is really quite rural but as I found out on my first visit to the state University of Santa Catarina it has its own share of problems. I too have been having some problems of my own – namely with my accommodation which currently resembles a gigantic building site with building work taking place from 7am – 8pm –not the peace and tranquillity I was offered! But I am hoping that I will be able to move. Or I shall be very tired and grumpy!

 Anyway, I wanted to write more about my time with the Mangueira samba school. Last week I spent a few days in the Mangueira community and on one visit I was taken for a VIP tour around the samba school. Whilst I visited the samba school a children’s rehearsal was taking place in the performance space. The final carnival parade is split into different groups. Each group represents a different part of the samba school song, so for example, the theme for Mangueira this year is the history of music so one group will be dressed as and represent funk music. The samba school is quite amazing – the centre itself, as I indicated in my last entry, is a mix between a football stadium and a religious place of worship. You have to enter through ticketed turnstiles where a sign stating ‘no guns’ serves as an ominous reminder of the danger present in this poor community. Once inside I was taken aback by the scale of the samba school – it is huge with various viewing galleries around the walls, the ‘performance space’ is massive and on a busy night it holds about 6000 people (and according to my guide when they win carnaval there are normally a further 4000 people outside!)

 I was taken to the samba school ‘museum’ inside the stadium (which is simply a gallery of images of all the founders) – but I was amazed and exhilarated by the pride that radiated from my guide – it was absolutely infectious – I could clearly see how key the samba school is to the community and how it can quite easily and effectively bring together all generations of the community in a shared passion. The founders of the samba school (which was established in the 1920s) were displayed proudly on the wall encased in glass frames (and, I noted, were also displayed at the front of the performance space resembling the type of religious iconography you would expect to find in a Catholic Church – it is almost as though they are worshipped as Gods). As part of the museum was the Mangueira Samba School trophy cabinet – and my, what a cabinet! It was very impressive and packed full of shinning, golden trophies (helped by the fact that they had cleverly lined the wall with mirrors to make it appear as though they had won more than was actually in there!)

 I was then taken to the VIP viewing gallery which was really interesting – it was packed full of ‘older’ members of the community and my guide explained that many had been with the samba school since they were children. The school really was a lifetime’s commitment. But it also illustrated beautifully the mix of generations and how samba really does serve as a glue to bring together this poor community. It is a passion, something that is in the blood, for all generations, and the same pride that had radiated from my guide shone from all members of the samba school. I sensed an overriding happiness, pride and belonging in the building – from all ages. I was then taken downstairs to the Mangueira samba school shop – and this is really where the school resembled some kind of premier league ground. The shop was packed full of Mangueira souvenirs, from t-shirts, to flip-flops to drums and tambourines all sporting the Mangueira colours of pink and green. It was really quite amazing. Needless to say my guide was sporting a Mangueira t-shirt.

Following the tour my guide took me for a drink outside in the Mangueira community. The harsh realities of the favela setting really hit home as I was taken to a series of cafe-shacks underneath a fly-over. I was struck by the dirt – the streets were filthy and full of rubbish – and buildings were half – made out of brick and corrugated sheets of metal. I can’t say I felt completely safe, especially as by then it was night. And as a pasty, white European I felt like I really stood out in this close-knit community. My guide had his four year old grandson with him and it made me think how completely different his life was from many four year olds in Britain. Having said that his Grandson was evidently much loved and radiated the same happiness and contentment that his Grandfather had. It was a very funny feeling – here I was in the midst of poverty – and it was real poverty – which on one hand saddened me (and, to be perfectly honest also scared me a little) but at the same time I perceived such happiness in this community, such pride, such loyalty to Mangueira. And, although the ‘no guns’ sign on the samba school wall still preyed on my mind (sharply reminding me of the daily reality for these warm, welcoming Brazilians) their wonderful attitude, in turn lifted me.