President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sanctioned on Wednesday (6) two bills that seek to value Brazilian parties and songs. PL 1.730/2024 recognizes Rio de Janeiro Carnival as a manifestation of national culture. PL 4.187/2024 establishes February 17 as a National Day of Axé-MUSIC, a music genre born in Bahia.
Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes. Photo – Lula Marques/Agência Brasil
“Brazilian culture stands out worldwide, it is one of the cultures that most influence other cultures in the world. And Carnival has this place, this moment of exposure of all this. For those who really live on art, culture, he condenses all expressions, all professions, ”said Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes.
“That’s why we need to guarantee the budgets. Because the budget we receive is less than 1% of the whole and what is returned is 3.11% of Gross Domestic Product.”
The ceremony was also attended by the Minister of the Secretariat of Institutional Relations of Brazil Gleisi Hoffmann, Minister of Tourism Celso Sabino, Minister of Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, and Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Macaé Evaristo. Parliamentarians, mayors, artists and representatives of blocks and samba schools also participated in the act.
The origins of Rio Carnival dating back to the nineteenth century and is based on Afro-Brazilian cultures. The rapporteur of the bill, federal deputy Laura Carneiro (PSD/RJ), highlighted the economic weight of the party and the possibility of capturing more resources.
“It’s a very simple project, but we all know the importance of Rio Carnival. It’s not just a wonderful show. It’s a cycle of the creative economy that works all year round,” said the deputy. “When this legal protection is defined, we are dealing with institutional support. Resources and promotion. This project is to say that now Rio Carnival is a national cultural manifestation. And therefore, we look forward to many resources for the city.”
Axé Music was born in Bahia in the 1980s, the result of the fusion of rhythms such as Ijexá, samba, frevo, reggae and lambada. The genre is present in Afro blocks and electric trios circuit of the Bahian Carnival. The choice of February 17 as an official date refers to the release of Luiz Caldas’s Music, considered the initial milestone of the genre.
The federal deputy Lídice da Mata (PSB/BA), rapporteur of the project on Axé-Music, reinforced the cultural and musical diversity that the genre gathers. It also remembered how it economically moves the country.
“Axé has become a genre, comes from a process that has the influence of several Latin American rhythms. It has Frevo, Maracatu, Samba-Reggae, Batuques, and the voices that turned this carnival into a symbol of Brazil,” said the deputy.
“Carnival is the moment when a city incorporates an infinite production chain. And this is what this day will bring to Brazil. It is a great development vector, with environmental sustainability and innovative solutions.”
