[SOUND ESSAY]

Thinking about sound, space and “banzo” through Brazilian Maracatu and the Calunga song

Luiz Ribeiro Fonseca

Maracatu is a cultural practice from the Carnival of Pernambuco, a state in the northeastern region of Brazil. It is derived from the coronation of the kings of Congo, syncretic ceremonies developed between the eighteenth and nineteenth century by bantu and sudanese enslaved people. In the practice, many groups, called Nations of Maracatu, parade among the streets, dance, sing toadas, and play percussion instruments such as alfaias and gonguês. Furthermore, maracatu is influenced by Xangô, a religion of African heritage, and very popular in Pernambuco. As a symbol of this influence, it is possible to quote the “Calunga”, a black doll that is raised during the maracatu’s parade and symbolizes the ancestors from Middle Passage.
Released in 1937 by Columbia Records in a 78RPM single by the afro-Brazilian singer Mara Henrique, Eh Uá Calunga is a so-called a Stylized Maracatu, i.e., Maracatu mixed with different genres, for example jazz. In its lyrics, Eh Uá Calunga evoke the colonial past and the anti-slavery struggle through imagetic symbols: “De São Paulo de Luanda/Me trouxeram para cá/ Êh! Êh! Êh! Calunga, calunga/Me trouxeram para cá/[...] Maracatu, Maracatu/ Eh Uá Calunga” (“From São Paulo de Luanda/ They brought me here/Êh! Êh! Êh! Calunga, calunga/ They brought me here”/ [...] Maracatu, Maracatu/ Eh Uá Calunga”).
Later, in 1960, the song was re-recorded simply as Calunga by the Portuguese fado singer Amália Rodrigues. In her version we only hear the acoustic guitar and the Portuguese guitar, a typical arrangement of the genre born in Lisbon and Coimbra.
As a matter of fact, it is important to say that Brazil was an ex-colony of Portugal. Its relations began in the 1500s. From that period, indigenous people were murdered and black people were kidnapped from spaces in Africa that nowadays are recognized as Angola, Moçambique, Nigéria and Cape Green. Even after 523 years, the colonial stigmas are still present in Brazilian society.
In such a manner, this sound essay is about “Calunga”, a Maracatu song about the Black Atlantic and the Middle Passage (GILROY, 1993), and its two versions: one as a Brazilian percussion music, and the other as a Portuguese fado. What happens when this song “travels” through the Global South and Global North? Under which auditory scrutiny must we analyze the Brazilian version (1) and the Portuguese one (2)? Can the presence (version 1) and the absence (version 2) of percussion tell something about aesthetic and colonial relations?
More than that, I would like to highlight the term “banzo”. Translated as “sadness”, melancholy or depression, banzo was used to refer to the deep negative emotion that enslaved people felt in this colonial arrestment. Although the word doesn’t appear in the song, the perception of sadness is quite clear in Calunga’s lyrics. How this dimension of banzo was transformed and/or reinforced by the version 2?

Thinking About Sound, Space And “banzo” Through Brazilian Maracatu And The Calunga Song

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A realizadora Margarida Cardoso e os actores Hoji Fortuna, Sara Carinhas e Ruben Simões conversam com Cíntia Gil e Hélder Beja sobre BANZO, longa-metragem que chega às salas de cinema portuguesas a 23 de Janeiro de 2025. 

Parte 1 de 2.

MAGENTA Ep. 3 parte 1 - Margarida Cardoso, Hoji Fortuna, Sara Carinhas e Ruben Simões sobre BANZO

No episódio desta semana analisamos a estreia de "The Brutalist" de Brady Corbet, os 30 anos do clássico "SE7EN - Sete Pecados Mortais" de David Fincher e a chegada às salas do filme "BANZO" de Margarida Cardoso.

Queríamos muito ter falado dos nomeados aos Óscares, mas ainda não havia quando gravámos o episódio.

Agradecemos ao Cinema São Jorge por mais uma vez nos ter deixado filmar na belíssima Sala Rank!
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30 anos de SE7EN e as estreias de BANZO e THE BRUTALIST

Um programa de entrevistas com Francisco Correia e José Paiva

New tracks tagged #banzo