Discovering stories and knowledge kept by those who saw Rio de Janeiro’s neighborhoods born, grow and transform, is a journey that can be taken, starting this Friday (17), taking as a starting point the Avós da Comunidade project, an audiovisual series created by Dandara Barbosa, which celebrates the ancestral wisdom and orality of the griôs, those who are the oldest in Rio’s communities. 
The idea was born out of discomfort. “Seeing an increasingly younger internet, I started to wonder: where are our griots? We talk so much about ancestry, but we hardly hear the voices of our elders”, says Dandara.
“I created Avós da Comunidade to value and record those who will be our future ancestors.”
The project covers different regions of the city: Morro da Providência, Serrinha and Inhoaíba —, revealing characters who are true guardians of the memory of their territories.
In each episode, the viewer is invited to sit at the table with these inspiring figures. They are grandparents, parents, founders of neighborhoods, Jongo masters or tellers of supernatural stories.
“The griôs are guardians of history. They are people who saw everything happen, who built what we today call a community”, explains Dandara.
She remembers that the first impulse for the project came in 2023, when she participated in a call for proposals called Cultura nas Redes. “The name provoked me: what do I want to put on the internet? So I thought: let’s listen to this griot wisdom, let’s record those who will one day be our ancestors”, he says.
The first recordings took place in Dandara’s own home, in Urucânia, in the west zone of Rio, with the founders of the neighborhood.
“It was all small, but with a lot of affection. I realized that each speech was a lesson, a laugh, a memory that couldn’t be lost.”
Among the most striking stories is that of Dona Jura, a character from Morro da Providência, who transformed her love for cooking into a livelihood and cultural reference. “She is a very strong woman, from the Northeast, who came to Rio to build a life. Food became a point of meeting, affection and survival”, says Dandara.
“Everyone has an affectionate memory with food and their grandmothers. Dona Jura brings this with enormous strength. She shows that, even when facing difficulties, it is possible to dream and move forward.”
In Morro da Serrinha, the birthplace of jongo and the Afro-Brazilian tradition, the project finds Sanã, Raimunda and Eliana, characters who keep alive the heritage of batuques and stories passed down from generation to generation.
In Inhoaíba, in the west zone, the Fruta do Pé group reveals the strength of family, discipline and reunion between generations. “We were welcomed by the griôs Eloy, Paulo and Marly. Each one with a trajectory that mixes resistance and tenderness”, says Dandara.
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For Wallace Silva, producer of the project, recording these voices is an act of continuity. “For centuries, the knowledge of the griots was transmitted only orally. Now, we have adapted this practice to the present day. It is an exchange between generations that is not lost over time, because it is in audiovisual format”, he explains.
Dandara agrees and broadens her gaze: “We talk a lot about the past, but I always ask: what are your dreams? Because those who are alive still dream. These people are living libraries, and each speech is a teaching.”
With lightness, respect and sensitive listening, Avós da Comunidade does more than rescue memories — it builds bridges between times, affections and territories.
“It’s beautiful to see how emotional they are when telling and how we recognize ourselves in their stories”, says Dandara, smiling. “After all, we are all part of this big family called memory.”
The series can be seen, with a new episode every Friday, from 3 pm, on the channel Community Grandparentson YouTube.
