Quilombo
The Quilombo Space is a showcase of independent artists and cultural producers from Brazil’s urban periphery. In Brazil, the quilombo was a maroon community where formerly enslaved Africans and their descendents settled, and forged a new society, resisting their exploitation and dehumanization. Today, the term quilombo symbolizes hope, solidarity, freedom, and autonomy for subaltern peoples of Brazil and around the world. Quilombo Space is curated and hosted by Flávio Lima, director of Casarti, A Casa do Artista Independente, a cultural center that supports the arts in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. Join Flávio as he interviews the musicians, filmmakers, poets and artists who are changing the cultural landscape of Brazil today.
Interview with
Euclides Amaral
Euclides Amaral da Silva is a Carioca from the suburbs of Brás de Pina and Bonsucesso, both peripheries of Rio de Janeiro where he was born in November 1958. He learned how to write and read at home from his sisters and his mother, and being an avid reader of magazines and children books made him advanced beyond his schooling. The Brazilian popular music festivals in the 1960s and 1970 sparked Euclides Amaral’s interest in researching the songs of Chico Buarque, Edu Lobo, and others. Earning a degree in Social Communication and Portuguese Literature, he joined many collectives of poetry, literature, and theater in the 1970s and 1980s in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. In 1979 he published several poetry books and song lyrics such as, “Sapo com Arroz,” “Fragmentos de Carambola,” and “Desafio das Horas.” As a songwriter, he has recorded around 90 songs in partnership with other artists such as Cacaso, Renato Piau, Victor Biblione, and many others. In this conversation, Euclides Amaral talks about his trajectory, work as a researcher of the Institute Ricardo Cravo Albin, and recites some of his poems.
Previous Interviews
Wilson Rabelo
""Wilson Cesar Barbosa Rabelo was born in 1950 in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais..."
Rose Maia
"Born Rosemary Vieira Maia from the peripheries of urban Rio de Janeiro, this singer/owner of a singular voice became interested in music listening to her..."
Rossandra Leone
"Rossandra Leone is a powerful figure in the fight for social justice from the periphery of Rio de Janeiro. Her talent as an emerging filmmaker is undeniable..."
Antônio Carlos Mariano
"Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestations and Latin America are all represented in the music of Antônio Carlos Mariano...."
Interviewed by:
Flávio Lima
Flávio Lima is a geography teacher and songwriter who recorded his own album “Sinestesia,” the author of articles such as “Nos Quintais Da Casa Do Artista Independente,” and the books, “Memórias Da Grande Madureira” (Afro Museum Rio – UERJ), and “Subúrbios Cariocas Uma Deriva Contemporânea Sobre Nosso Chão.” In collaboration with Rodolfo Bertamé, he wrote the book “Diálogos Suburbanos”. Flávio is the founder and artistic director of the Cultural Center CASARTI – Casa do Artista Independente, and the founder of MAIS – Movement of Independent Artists from the Suburbs.
