Via São Paulo

The latest Australian-made project that is at the forefront of this expression is VIA, a platform for cross cultural exchange in art, music, and performance. This year at DARK MOFO’s Night Mass event, in Hobart, VIA’s latest project VIA SÃO PAULO introduced audiences to some of the most potent voices of the Brazilian underground music scene.

The event featured Brazilian artist’s BADSISTA who’s recent Boiler Room debut was met with great acclaim, Mamba Negra co-founder and DJ stand-out CASHU, and TETO PRETO, a band fiercely merging political activism and performance art. Breaking boundaries in their own communities back home, this line-up of transgressive artists has shaken Australia’s southern shoreline! A highlight of the festival for many.

Their journey began in São Paulo back in 2013, when culture and art started moving out of the institutions and into public spaces. “For me and Cashu, it was a space to build something, it meant creating a means to work as women in an independent night scene, away from the entertainment business and gentrification. It was our way to work as women; gay, lesbian and transgender people together fighting to be who we are. The creation of these new spaces was as a place for our protagonism to exist,” said Laura.

Back then, they were fighting for the freedom of expression, and fighting for a place in the cultural imagination of Brazil. “As women, we're always having to prove that we can do whatever it takes to achieve our goals. Cashu and I found out together, that we don't have to prove anything to anyone. We keep on fighting to do whatever it takes to achieve what we believe.”

Weaving poetic socio-political messages throughout their art, these young female pioneer’s are making music that ignites the spirit as much as it ignites a political reaction to the transphobia that afflicts Brazil and the world. The lyrics in Teto Preto’s songs are born of urgency says frontwoman and vocalist Laura, “the lyrics we write talk about being respected in a patriarchal society ruled by the recently elected president, Jair Bolsonaro’s, oppressive ideologies.The important thing is to remain alive and fighting, the important thing is that we defeat the Government united,” she says, flaunting her intellect as much as her creative resilience. 

Before the VIA SÃO PAULO project took shape, Pepper Keen, VIA’s director, visited Sao Paulo on a number of occasions, purely with research in mind, taking time to connect with the culture and understand the context from which it was born. This was during the election period, when the murder of Elected Politician and Human Rights Activist Marielle Franco floored an entire country. Less than two months later, 21 year old student and LGBTQ rights activist Matheusa Passarelli was murdered under the military intervention. Unthinkable tragedies that led to an uprising of assertive voices standing up and fighting against systems of oppression.

“It's important to talk about Marielle Franco and Matheusa Passarelli because they're a part of our lives. When I go on stage, when Linn da Quebrada, Jup do Bairro, Alice Guel, Malka, Mc Dellacroix, Maria Beraldo and Ava Rocha go on stage, we are an army,” says Laura. The music is a message, a trojan horse that knocks furiously at the governments doors. During this cultural uprising and resistance in Brazil there have been many barriers to breakthrough. “We've already dealt with a great deal of contexts and audiences, for Teto Preto, we always feel that the performances are rituals of transforming the energy of mourning in combat,” says Laura. 

The fierce need for change is a driving force in their performances, it becomes “the spectacle that hipnotizes and electrifies the audience, it makes connections, it acquires it’s own life and energy. Each day we perform a different show. Each show we are crossed by a new flux of feeling and happenings,” says Laura. Having just performed their first shows in Portugal and Berlin and soon to reach the shores of Australia, there is a feeling of deep excitement and hope, “we never walk alone” she muses.

In reaction to the newly elected presidents regime, Brazil’s art scene was speaking to the realities and nuances of their experiences and doing it in a way that lit a candle in the face of their oppressors. Fearless and uncompromising, their music and performances were more of a demand than a plea for action.“Nowadays, I believe that art is born based of the context in which we are drowned, the content of artistic expression has both a historical and social context. It's about taking risks, it's about mistakes and the right of admitting weakness as a fundamental part of strength - and expanding on this knowledge with others.” 

These wise and honest reflections on the role of art in a social context have sent quakes through their hometown, and are now beginning to ripple outwards into the rest of the world. Their art has become a way of carrying on the legacy of fallen heroes. Their art has become a way of immortalising the essence of those who risked their life for the freedom of expression. “Today, it's not about the intangible subjectivity of the muse anymore, it's about the deconstruction of a passive female position. It's not about criticizing expression, it's about freeing people from old forms and preconceptions,” says Laura. 

When asked about how it feels to finally have a global light being shone on their work, Laura said, “I think it was about time. I feel like getting ready for our great world war. I feel like delivering the messages. I feel like getting back what is ours and being valued. I feel like opening paths to many other latin american artists. I feel like I always just want to be able to choose where I want to be, to choose where we want to live and work. I feel like being respected. I also feel that we are really lucky to know so many inspiring women and to make friends outside Brazil, and for what we give to be received and accepted.” 

From the depths of Brazil, where non-conformity can be life-threatening, art is transcending barriers. The world is becoming more interconnected, more fluid and less afraid. VIA SÃO PAULO is just the beginning of what will be an ongoing exchange and show of solidarity between the creative scenes here in Australia and Brazil.