Jun-2015
We arrived at David’s grandfather’s banana plantation after a long hike. Turning left by the cemetery, we walked down a path through the bush, walked past a spring, crossed a bridge, and arrived there to pick the dried leaves we will use on Sunday for Nego Fugido (Runaway Black Boy). Amarelinho, or Lil’ Yellow (as […]
May-2015
By the afternoon, everything has changed: no longer bought or rented from a store, but built artisanally by Dodô’s talented hands, the caretas, or grimaces, parade through the town. Walking into the workshop is like penetrating a mystery, violating a secret. The caretas of Acupe (in the state of Bahia) have their own voice, costumes […]
May-2015
Those who walk down the streets of Acupe (in the state of Bahia) on Sundays in July can’t avoid meeting the traditional “rubber Careta (or grimmace).” There are countless people, both children and adults, dressed in frightening masks and outfits and hitting those who provoke them. They appear when you least expect, you turn a […]
May-2015
Today we went to visit the Children’s Samba de Roda of Saubara, a town next to Acupe. Dona Anna is an old school sambadeira, or samba player. She has spun her skirt and her voice among the best in the samba de roda, a local style of samba music of the Recôncavo Baiano. These days […]
Ô Cosme cadê Damião? Hey Cosme, where is Damião? Ô Cosme cadê Damião? […]
For days no one has talked about anything other than the parade for the 7th of September. The schools were preparing so intensively that they barely had time for lessons. Rehearsals, marches, making flags, banners and decorations occupied the routine of Acupe. Whenever we called the kids to play we would hear back “we can’t, […]
May-2015
On departure the luggage consists of a spoon, a bucket and an empty sack. Upon return, it’s a sack full of bebe fumo. Many families in Acupe support themselves by catching a kind of shellfish that has the curious name of bebe fumo, or smoke drinker. There is a long trip by foot in order […]
May-2015
Neck deep in water, Felipe never tired of watching his little boat slide around on the whims of the wind and the current. Built with his own hands out of a rubber sandal hull, plastic bag sails and a rudder made from a bent bottle cap, the boat was christened with the name of his […]
May-2015
Is hunting a big boy’s thing? Neto is only 2 years old, the second youngest of nine brothers, an attentive boy with a voracious intellect. As I followed the filming of his older sisters, he was tugging at my clothes and inviting me to look around. I asked him to wait a bit, more worried […]
May-2015
On the way there, everyone walks quickly through the bush, eagerly anxious to see if there is something in the trap they set up days ago. Anxiety also to see if the trap is still there or if it has been stolen by someone, along with the bird. Basically, the anxiety of waiting, of surprise. […]
May-2015
Anxious, with fast movements and speaking quickly, the boys insist on taking us to the mangrove to hunt for gaiamum (a type of crab). It’s Wednesday morning, lunch and school will happen soon, but there is no argument to convince them that this isn’t the best moment. The agreement is that we’ll be quick, find […]
May-2015
August is the windy month, and the winds call for bicudas and arraias, or airplanes and kites, in the sky. Acupe is currently covered with children on the docks, the square, in streets and backyards with their eyes turned to the sky and their hands waving deftly, like a maestro conducting his orchestra. The bicudas […]
May-2015
Beneath a mango tree, Seu Dodô creates his incredible paper masks. These are masks borne out of a fearful imagination and painted in the colors that belong to it: black, red and white. First the clay is worked, smoothed, and sculpted into frightful shapes. Next, he covers the clay with strips of brown paper mixed […]
