Cabare de RRRRRRRRaca

Last night I went to see a play entitled "Cabare de Raca" at the Teatro Vila Velha. It was a musical put on by a small theatrical group of Olodum (Bando de Teatro Olodum) about the experience of racism and discrimination in Brasil. I was accompanied by some of my friends and classmates, a good group of about ten people. The theatre had a good performance space - the stage was almost set up like a fashion runway, facilitating easy interaction with the audience. The place filled up pretty quickly, and there were apparently some soap opera stars in attendance.  I sat with my friend Rachel so she could help me with some of the Portuguese I didn't understand. Soon the cast ran onto the stage to a powerful number with same name as the show.  They were all dressed in red outfits, some with red shoes and red flowers in their hair, and red makeup.  This matched the deep red hue of the stage. One of the actors with a booming bass voice set the tone, proclaiming "Sou negro e estou fora!" which means "I'm black and I'm up front with it!" The show was very "in your face" with actors running into the audience and asking questions, falling on people's laps, and such. However the show was more inquisitive than militant. The different actors had a different stereotypical role they were playing - the militant black man complaining about the grievances of racial inequality, the clueless white girl who insists she knows a black person and therefore is not racist, the student who says racism doesn't exist in Brazil, etc. Every now and then they broke out into different numbers. It was mainly two singers, a man and a woman, who did most of the songs and they both had great voices. My favorite part was when the male singer broke out "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong in Louis' very distinct, rippling voice.  At first I thought it was a recording, but that just means the guy did a great job.

There were some crazy moments, funny moments and some poignant moments in the show. The craziest moments came with all the nudity. I wasn't expecting so much of it, but there was plenty. During the discussion about sex (one of the actors proclaimed that black people in Brazil can only do sex, sports, and Candomble), the tallest and oldest actor of the group, who had hair that looked like a bird's nest, ran on to the stage completely naked, posing as another actor narrated about the sexual prowess of black men. Another time they did a whole song running around the theatre, naked, with things swinging above people's heads that shouldn't have been doing so. I'm glad at the last minute before the show started I switched my seat to the third row. The funny part was in the same scene with discussion about sex were the whole group formed a choir, and followed the director's hand motions not to sing a traditional number, but to basically moaning, sexual noises for about 5 minutes. I don't how the actors kept a straight face because I was dying laughing. A poignant moment came when one of the actors ran into the audience and was asking people if they experienced racism. He went up to this seemingly white couple, and first he asked the man where he was from. The guy said the U.S., so the actor assumed his wife was as well, but she spoke Portuguese. He made a somewhat sarcastic statement saying something to the effect of "I'm sure you both have experienced a ton of discrimination in your lives." He also asked if they thought white people discriminate more against black people, or black against black, or black against white. But the woman took everyone to task, explaining that she is "negra" because her father is black and that the whole world holds prejudice in their hearts. She explained that she experiences discrimination every day, and in fact, she was experiencing discrimination in that very moment, as the actor and audience assumed that because of her appearance she was not "negra." It was an impromptu lesson that amplified the play's message in many ways.

The show ended with a surprise appearance by the lead singer of the band Psirico, a very famous guy here in Salvador, and the band played the traditional song devoted to Ile Aiye. They invited the audience up onstage to dance, and we went up there and took some pictures with the actors and danced until the show was over. Afterwards, we all went to the bar nearby and discussed the show. I thought it was great - I loved the music, the performances, and the audience interaction. And I especially loved the message, which was both a celebration of the infinite ways to be black and an acknowledgment of the work we all have to put in to do away with prejudice and racism in Brazil and other parts of the world...