Februaries

The carnival created in homage to Maria Bethânia allowed us to run through several aspects related to the region where she came from, Bahia, the place in Brazil that received the largest number of slaves from Africa. Bahia managed to mix the African, native Indian and Portuguese traditions into an original Brazilian expression towards music, religiosity and festivities. As we visit Bethania’s hometown and follow the victorious carnival of Mangueira, we go through these aspects, discovering their beauty and facing the issues that come along with them, such as prejudice and intolerance.

People might not know but the birth of samba is directly related to the religious rituals of the candomble brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans. The music played in these rituals was the base for the samba that would amuse a whole nation years later. In the beginning of the 20th century, samba was forbidden in Rio de Janeiro. Musicians were arrested when caught playing in public. The candombles made in the house of the “baianas” who came to Rio were also persecuted by the police.

When we started shooting, I obviously didn’t know Mangueira would win the carnival. It was a great surprise that gave the film a sort of “happy ending”. However, what always interested me in this story, independently from the result of carnival, was the concept of Mangueira’s parade. Mangueira could have chosen a creative way based on Maria Bethânia’s career or hits. Instead, they chose to emphasize Maria Bethânia’s devotion, her syncretism that mixes catholicism, candomble and the mythologies inherited from the Indians. One century before, the people who came from Bahia to Rio were persecuted by the police because of their music and religiosity. In 2016, Mangueira and a singer from Bahia won the carnival for the same reasons.