Rio Hosts Samba’s Literary Festival this Sunday in Tijuca

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Sunday, July 16th, Renascença Clube in Tijuca in Zona Norte (North Zone) hosts the “FliSamba”, the literary festival dedicated to the most Brazilian of all music genres. The second edition of the event honors Dona Ivone Lara and Nelson Sargento, two of the greatest names from the samba history.

FliSamba will gather diverse cultural attractions. Opening the event at 9:30 PM will be the theater play “Samba Menino” (Boy Samba), which tells the story of samba to the children.

The morning activities also include a chat with authors of children’s books on “Image and Black Identity in the Children’s Literature”, at 11AM. For those who want to have lunch in the event, a stew festival will start at 1PM.

Three writers will release their books on the festival. At 1:40 PM, Percio Breno presents to the audience “O Batom Vermelho” (The Red Lipstick); Cizinho Afreeka, at 2:30 PM, will be selling and autographing his latest work, “Desakato Lírico” (Lyrical Contempt).

The renowned soap-opera and cinema actor Lázaro Ramos will release, at 5PM, one of the the most expected books of the season in Brazil’s literary market: “Na Minha Pele” (In My Skin), about the actor’s personal reflections on racism, difference and attitude.

The event will also screen films that tell the samba history and the Afro Brazilian culture, like the short “Rainha” (Queen), by Sabrina Fidalgo, at 2PM, on the beauty standards imposed to the samba female dancers. Following, the audience can also watch movies from the Cultne Collection, the biggest digital collection of black culture’s films in Latin America.

Live samba music starts at 4PM, with the group Kebanjê presenting classics from the genre in a true “roda de samba“. After Lazaro Ramos’s book release, Kebanjê goes back to the stage, at 5:30 PM, followed by the big tribute to Dona Ivone Lara and Nelson Sargento, who will go up on Renascença’s stage at 7PM. The FliSamba closes with a ceremony at 9:30 PM.

Known as “The Queen of Samba”, Dona Ivone Lara is one of the greatest singers and composers from the genre, being the author of classics like “Sonho Meu” (My Dream), “Alguém Me Avisou” (Someone Told Me) and “Acreditar” (To Believe).

Actor, singer, composer, writer and even visual artist, 92 year-old Nelson Sargento is a legitimate “bamba” (how old samba folks are called). Having being a member of the famous group A Voz do Morro (Favela’s Voice), Sargento has composed samba pearls like “Agoniza Mas Não Morre” (Agonizes But Does Not Die), “Sonho De Um Sambista” (A Sambist’s Dream) and “Encanto da Paisagem” (The Landscape’s Charm).

What: FliSamba – Festa Literária do Samba (Samba’s Literary Festival)
When: this Sunday, July 16th – 9:30 AM to 10PM
Where: Renascença Clube – Rua Barão de São Francisco, 54 – Tijuca – Tel: (21) 3253-2322
Entrance: FREE until 12PM (R$20 after 12:30 PM). The stews will be sold for R$20.