Note from BW of Brazil: As we have seen in a number of recent posts, musical theater is one of genres that a number of black groups, actors, singers and poets have been using as an alternative to compensate for the huge gap in the presentation of the Afro-Brazilian experience in the mainstream media. And we are seeing these artistic expressions popping up all over the country. Today, we bring you a recent act from the capital city of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. 

NEGR.A – Coletivo de Negras Autoras

Courtesy of Agenda BH

“Five women cross their poetics in the line art. Their trajectories were more than a coincidence, a mission. The word sound led the destiny of this meeting and the gestation of ideas and stories gave birth to this show. NEGR.A is an unprecedented scenic musical spectacle. Conceived and produced by young black composers, it deals with blackness and the feminine universe. For this, they use their own compositions (songs, poems and texts) with a dramaturgy guided in speech, body and sound, creating a scenic environment that describes the course and the positioning of the black woman active in contemporary society.

The dramaturgy of the show has been designed based on the personal accounts of the authors, in search of identity and ancestry, fomenting this collective of active black women in society. Music, text and poetry permeate the show connecting the root of the tradition and the contemporary.”

Collective Negras Autoras (Black Authors) presents a piece in Espanca!

Scenic spectacular and musical show has the universe of blackness and femininity as its focus

By Carolina Braga

With Nath Rodrigues, Eneida Baraúna, Elisa de Sena, Manu Ranilla and Julia Dias, members of the collective Negras Autoras, NEGR.A is a musical theatrical spectacle deals with blackness and the feminine universe. The assembly is the weekend attraction downtown, sponsored by Teatro Espanca!

With drama that mixes songs, poems and texts – all of the authorship of the interpreters – the assembly is guided on relations between word, body and sound. A partner in other programs, the quintet talked some time ago about the possibility of doing something more authorial. The piece was designed based on the personal accounts of the five.

‘NEGR.A’ has music as a strong point. In the “seam” of the songs and even the lyrics, there is the search for identity and ancestry. “The narratives talk about a young black young who lives in this city, in BH (Belo Horizonte). The authorship is ours, but speaks of a universe,” adds Elisa Sena.

According to her, the spectacular could exhaust itself in the show format. But the quintet wanted to invest in the staging – with it comes many symbolisms. Elements such as fogo, terra, água e ar (fire, earth, water and air) are represented. Drums and other percussion instruments form the backdrop. “It’s something simple, but strong for us,” says Elisa.

NEGR.A – Coletivo de Negras Autoras

Idealization: Baraúna Produções

Executive Producer: Elisa de Sena and Eneida Baraúna

Musical Direction/Arrangements: Collective Process

Conception and authorship: Nath Rodrigues/Eneida Baraúna/Elisa Sena/Manu Ranilla/Julia Dias

Makeup: Cacá Zech and Tásia de Paula

Musicians: Belisário Tonsich/Andinho Santo

Source: Agenda BH, Divirta-se