Note from BW of Brazil: Let me just say up front, I LOVE this woman’s voice! Cris Pereira’s soothing voice and mesmerizing rhythms represent so many of the things that first enchanted me about Brazilian music. She proudly carries the torch of the classic Samba but with her melancholic tone also takes her place in a long line of female singers of African descent throughout the Diaspora that bring a certain ancestral, nostalgic sensibility. But also by singing Samba, Cris knows exactly what this means being a black Brazilian woman. In a number of past articles
A number of past articles have presented the dilemma of Afro-Brazilian women being expected and often times restricted to singing Samba while being steered away from the more lucrative Brazilian Popular Music market. Pereira recognized how this issue plays out for a black woman from the nation’s capital city in a 2013 Veja Brasilia interview:
“Brasilia is a very receptive but at the same time an imprisoning space. I speak of being receptive because there is already, historically in Brazil, an expectation about black women being singers. And samba singers. But I also say that it is imprisoning because a black singer has more space in the media and cultural market if she sings samba, but if she ventures into other corners of MPB she risks not having a very satisfactory projection.”
Learn more about this wonderful artist and check out a few of her songs below…
Singer Cris Pereira brings classic Samba, Jazz and Afro sounds to Vasques Theater
Courtesy of O Diário de Mogi
In addition to the songs on CD Folião de Raça, the artist plays songs by Brazilian legends such as Baden Powell, Paulo César Pinheiro, Candeia and Dorival Caymmi, among others.
The Brasília singer Cris Pereira is presenting a tour of her debut album, Folião de Raça, on Thursday (4), at the Vasques Theater in Mogi das Cruzes, at 8pm. Accompanied by the musicians Lucas de Campos (guitar and musical direction), José Cabrera (piano), Rodrigo Salgado (bass) and Leander Motta (drums and percussion), she brings in this show classics of Samba, Samba-Canção, Jazz and Afro-Brazilian music.
In addition to the songs of her album, she performs songs by Baden Powell, Paulo César Pinheiro, Candeia and Dorival Caymmi, among others, with her soft tempered voice. The performance features the special participation of Adriana Moreira, who has two albums released, Direito de Sambar and Cordão.
The album
Folião de Raça is the debut album singer Cris Pereira who hails from the nation’s capital city of Brasília. Released in 2013, the work brings compositions by major samba artists from Brasilia such as Sérgio Magalhães, Vinícius de Oliveira, Cacá Pereira and Ana Reis and also has the special participation of Dona Ivone Lara in the track “Espelho da Vida” (Mirror of Life), by Lara and Delcio Carvalho. In 2015, the album was selected for the 26th Prêmio da Música Brasileira (Brazilian Music Award), in the category of Samba.
Career
Growing up to the sound of MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) greats Elis Regina, Nana Caymmi, João Nogueira and Agepê, Cris Pereira decided to sing professionally at age 15, in choirs. After the experience of playing classical music and experiencing maestros and orchestras, it was the turn of the artist to dedicate herself to a more popular repertoire alongside the group Batucada de Bamba.
In 2005, Cris left for her solo career. The premiere was at the “Canto Negro” show, at the Funarte Room, where the brasiliense (native of Brasília) sang songs by Leci Brandão and Candeia, among other artists that interpret songs addressing the racial issue – a theme that always caught the attention of the artist.
With a Master’s in cultural history from the University of Brasília, in 2010 she defended the dissertation Coisas do meu pessoal: samba e enredos de raça e gênero na trajetória de Leci Brandão (Things of my people: samba and enredos of race and gender in the career of Leci Brandão).
Cris Pereira sings “Folião de Raça”
Since then, Cris has participated in several projects, among which stand out “Samba de Bamba”, “Festa de Rua: uma homenagem à Dorival Caymmi” (Street Party: an homage to Dorival Caymmi) and “Canções para Carolina” (Songs for Carolina). The last, at the Festival Latinidades was a tribute to the writer Carolina Maria de Jesus and had the special participation of the São Paulo singer Fabiana Cozza.
Cris Pereira – “Samba é Fineza”
A finalist for the Tom Jobim Sesc Music Prize (2009) and the Prize for Brazilian Popular Music (2010) in the Ivone Lara category, Cris is also a creator and member of the projects “Nós Negras” (We black women) and “Plataforma do Samba” (Samba Platform) marks the celebrations for the Dia Nacional do Samba (National Day of Samba) at the Plano Piloto section of Brasilia.
“Canção da Primavera” – Cris Pereira
Source: O Diário de Mogi, Veja Brasília
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