The search for female protagonism, with a network of support and affection for women in samba, was the reason for singer, composer and presenter Dorina to create the National and International Meeting of Women in Roda de Samba, in 2017, considered the biggest female samba event in the world. The meeting will be broadcast simultaneously online in several Brazilian cities and in some countries via Instagram profile @coletivotemmulhernarodadesamba.
At 65 years old, Dorina, a samba dancer, sees that this rhythm has always been one of achievement and resistance. “It’s not just one type of music; It is also a philosophy of life that fuels the energy of those in the circle. I thought it would be a great bed to do this project”, he revealed in an interview with Brazil Agency.
With a program scheduled to last six hours, Roda de Samba will feature 30 women, including singers and instrumentalists. In addition to Dorina, Ana Costa, Nina Rosa, Dayse do Banjo, Renata Jambeiro, Nina Wirtti, Lazir Sinval, Tia Surica, the groups Herdeiras do Samba and Mulheres da Pequena África will be present, under the musical direction of Ana Paula Cruz and Roberta Nistra .
“The most important thing about this is that they didn’t just embrace samba, but the philosophy that samba gives, which is this thing of working together, being together. History prevails against racism, against misogyny, against xenophobia. We deal with all of this to be able to create a chain that is a better world, not a world of us coming to power, of being more than the man in samba. It’s not that. We want to participate and share this affection thing even safely”, he pointed out.
Renascença Clube, in Andaraí, north of Rio, will host the seventh edition of the National and International Meeting of Women in Roda de Samba this Saturday (30), very close to National Samba Day, celebrated on December 2. “We can’t go too far into December because of other cities, especially those outside Brazil, when it’s colder. We try to set a date that is good for everyone, because the time has to be the same. Everyone in the same tone, with the same songs. We work on this all year long to give them the songs to rehearse”, he reported.
The Meeting will spread across 32 cities, including some outside Brazil, on the same day, time and with the same songs. “The project was embraced by all women, so much so that we started with 11 cities, we have now reached 43 and this year we have 32. It has enabled many women to connect with themselves, connect with our history, which we That’s not just what they say, but much more.”
Dorina says that the project follows the lines of others she has already developed to expand knowledge of samba. “My ideas always come up to move things forward, to make things better. It was like this with Suburbanistas that I started singing the Rio suburbs together with Luiz Carlos da Vila and Mauro Diniz, it was with Mulheres de Zeca, Mulheres de Chico already existed, and we did Mulheres de Zeca [Bloco carnavalesco e espetáculo musical em homenagem ao cantor e compositor Zeca Pagodinho] in the suburbs and that was also the case with the Women’s Meeting. This advanced and conquered several cities that we didn’t even expect to conquer. It’s in Goiânia, it’s Belém, three cities in the interior of Bahia and it’s in Acre.”
Outside of Brazil, women from several cities such as Toronto, Canada, Portugal, Uruguay and Argentina will participate. “Nowadays, with the internet and Whatsapp, we sew, do workshops through YouTube for them, who also participate in meetings via meat. During the year, they continue to carry out activities. We are always in contact and we can also exchange experiences, for example, the Uruguayan government established Women’s Day in Samba, which is the day we meet. They achieved it through our movement. Here in Brazil we couldn’t do it”, he compared, remembering that even during the pandemic it was possible to carry out the project virtually.
Tributes
As always, the project pays homage to a singer and this was the case with Beth Carvalho, Elza Soares, Alcione, Teresa Cristina, Leci Brandão and Tia Surica. This year, however, there will be two honorees. Clementina de Jesus, in memoriamand Áurea Martins, who will be present and will sing.
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 11/27/2024 – Portrait of Áurea Martins, honored at the meeting – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
“When this idea came up [de fazer as homenagens no Encontro] I wanted to give flowers alive to those who were there”, he commented, in reference to the samba Quando eu me chama saudade, in which the composer Nélson Cavaquinho wrote the verses Give me the flowers in life/The affection, the helping hand/To ease my sorrowsreinforcing the importance of receiving tributes while alive.
But for Clementina, who will be represented by her granddaughter Vera de Jesus, it will be the first time that the Meeting pays tribute to those who have already made the journey.
Ancestry
“I’m very grateful, firstly, Dorina’s project is a beautiful thing and she pays homage to several women. Now it’s grandma and Áurea Martins’ turn, in life. I’m very happy and I feel very grateful. Dorina has now invited me to represent grandma and I just have to say thank you for this beautiful tribute. Grandma has everything to do with this movement, because when she emerged she had a female lead, she brought this with her at a time that was dominated by men. She arrived, really arriving and from then on she had this vision of pioneering the place of women in samba. Because she is an Aquarius, she is a woman who sees ahead, they say that, right?”, Vera told the reporter, excited about the honor.
The granddaughter also highlighted her happiness with the role that Clementina has in samba and music, especially at the time when Bossa Nova was at its peak. “It was a very strong movement and she arrived with her unique voice”, he observed.
Rio de Janeiro (RJ) 11/27/2024 – Portrait of the singers Dorina, creator of the National and International Meeting of Women in the Roda de Samba, and Vera de Jesus, granddaughter of Clementina de Jesus, honored in memoriam at the Meeting – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
“I compare it to the connection between Mother Africa and Brazil. A voice that came and should have shown more at the time, but a time came when the industry [fonográfica] Clementina de Jesus was no longer interesting, but to this day her name is established, it is respected. She is always being honored.”
Vera considers it extremely important to be the granddaughter of Clementina de Jesus and to be able to participate in this event representing her grandmother. “It’s a source of pride. I’m very, very, very happy. I didn’t even know it was going to happen and one day Dorina called me to say she would like me to be there. I told her ‘it’s for now, it’s for yesterday’. I hugged. She has everything to do with Dorina’s movement. She is a visionary woman. This comes from way back. With a lot of vitality. She came with a lot of strength”, described the grandmother.
With so much admiration it was natural to have become a singer under the influence of Clementina. Since she was little, she was enchanted when her grandmother, still a maid and a cook hired for parties, would sing while she worked. “I always heard her singing and thought it was very beautiful.”
The singer has said a few times that the composer, poet and music producer Hermínio Bello de Carvalho, responsible for bringing Clementina to music, discovered a rare gem.
“Herminio says he didn’t discover her, he says it was a discovery. He was coming from the beach and heard a voice coming from the Tavern of Glory and asked what different voice it was. After a while they met again and it all started with Rosas de Ouro, at Teatro Jovem in Botafogo. Then she started going to nights out at Teatro Opinião, in Copacabana. Sometimes I went there and saw her singing. That’s when I really fell in love. It got into my blood and never left. A good influence. She influenced me a lot. She is my inspiring muse”, he concluded.
The presence of her grandmother who took her to São Paulo for some presentations awakened in her granddaughter, despite her shyness, the desire to do the same. “One of the times I went, she asked me to sing. I was very shy, but I saw that it was what I wanted to do”, she said, regretting that she never managed to record an album with Clementina.
Today, in addition to being a singer, Vera is a composer for Portela and has been a member of the group Matriarcas do Samba for three years, in the company of Nilcemar Nogueira, granddaughter of Cartola and Selma Candeia, daughter of master Candeia. A group that represents an ancestry in samba. “I often say that. We are in this endeavor to continue carrying our legacy to future generations. This project of ours is for that. To show the work of Clementina, Cartola and Candeia”, he commented.
Still on the road to transmitting the legacy of samba, Vera was part of the Samba Miudinho project, which took presentations, in the second half of this year, to students from Rio’s municipal public schools.
“The Matriarchs took the history of samba and Clementina, Cartola and Candeia”, he said, highlighting that the group also does a lot of work at the Samba Museum, created to keep the memory of this type of music that enchants many people. The Museum is located at the foot of Morro da Mangueira, close to the school block, in the north of Rio, and its founders include Nilcemar Nogueira, when it was still Centro Cultural Cartola, founded in 2001.
Tribute in life
For Áurea Martins, tributes are always very special for those who receive them and show a sign that something along the way has drawn positive attention.
Áurea Martins says she wants to join the men, to defend samba together – Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil
“A tribute like this, with special women who are there in the circles, playing, composing and valuing the legacy left since Aunt Ciatapassing by Elza Soares, Clara Nunes, Beth Carvalho, Dona Ivone, Jovelina, and my godmother Elizeth Cardoso, who showed with the iconic album ‘Elizeth sobe o Morro’, the value of the female voice in the world of samba, I’m very happy with this connection”, he commented to Brazil Agency.
“I’m sure that]other honorees]felt like I feel now, presented by women we’ve never seen in person, suddenly you discover that your voice had an echo in Brazil and other countries. Then a big wheel is formed crossing borders, this is pure energy hovering in the air. I believe in that a lot. Nobody wants to duel with the circles of men, we just want to join forces, so that together we can defend this heritage that is samba. It’s as simple as that,” he added.
Áurea revealed that she received with surprise and great joy the news of the honor for Dorina, who she considers a great warrior in the world of samba.
“I never thought I would have so much affection from women samba singers, because as a night singer, I navigated through different styles, I was always a ‘crooner’, but attentive to everything. In fact, working for the elite in the south zone, in the 70s, I led the high party of Xangô, Aniceto and other supporters, to the point of Phillips [gravadora de discos] to get interested and record these nights on an LP called ‘Uma Noite no 706’, a nightclub in Leblon where samba prevailed until dawn, along with boleros, American standards, bossa-nova and samba canto. It was the samba that attracted the most attention”, he recalls.
“You can check out this LP live and very current and a reference for any samba singer”, he recommends.
