Neguinho do Samba (Antonio Luiz Alves de Souza) Neguinho do Samba (Antonio Luiz Alves de Souza) has been associated, at one time or another, with every Afro Bloco which has ever existed in Salvador, Bahia and even in the native Indian bloco (which has an Afro sound). His father played the bongo drums and his mother was a laundry woman. He was soon tapping out rhythms on his mothers metal wash bowl. Neguinho worked for years as an electrician, an iron worker and a street peddler. All the while tapping rhythms, which is as customary in Salvador as practicing basketball is in Indiana in the United States. Real drums are not affordable for the poor in Bahia but, as an iron worker, Neguinho realized that the drums which his poor community in Salvador could not afford to buy for Carnival could be made within the community. Iron rods, used in construction, proved to be ideal as struts on the outside of the drums. And scrap metal could be used to form 13 inch rings to secure the struts at the top and bottom of each drum. Neguinho discovered that a drum with 5 struts was good for samba but a drum with 8 struts was best for the music he had created, performed nowadays by several groups in Brazil and around the World. Neguinho created an organization which developed a process for building drums in his fathers workshop. He secured participation from iron workers. And he convinced scrap metal dealers to cut and soder the scrap metal they were donating into the 13 inch rings, complete with nuts through which the rods could be secured. The availability of affordable drums contributed to the regeneration of Salvadors most historic district - Pelourinho. Twenty years ago Pelourinho was ruled by drug dealers, those exploiting prostitution and petty criminals. It was one of the most dangerous areas of Salvador. Today Pelourinho is a thriving tourist mecca which has been transformed in large part by the work of African blocos and their musical groups which have imparted the importance of self discipline, enhanced pride and promoted education. Most notable among these groups, though not the first, is the world famous Olodum which was formed in 1979 and has performed backup for David Byrne, Paul Simon and Michael Jackson. Olodum performed at the Indiana University Lotus Festival in the autumn of 1997. In the 1970s Neguinho, who would later become maestre of Olodum, was Maestre of Ilê Aiye, which is led by Vovo ( who is and ever was the leader of Ilê and the district of Curuzu/Liberdade). From the outset he began to put his own musical ideas into Ilê Aiye. He began to think that each bloco, or music school, was intended to be unique. He devised the first rhythm uniquely identified with Ile. This rhythm came to him as he thought about the people associated with Ilê and the Mãe Hilda of Ilê (Vovôs mother and mother of saint of one of the most famous Candomblé on that district). This rhythm reminded him of the time of slavery and the hard work of slaves to create sisal fibers. It also reminded him of Candomble, which is the form that Afro religion has taken behind the facade of Catholicism. He could see from the movements of these (Ile) people that they fit with this rhythm so they could find their own identities in the rhythm. In 1983 Neguinho helped to form the childrens version of Olodum and, in a later year, the all childrens bloco Mirim. There were only 20 days before Carnival when Mirim was formed and Neguinhos appeals to other organizations for assistance were met more with demands than offers of assistance. Neguinho worked to organize the parents of the children and encouraged them to assume responsibilities for the group. He asked the street children whose parents were not there: wont your parents come? If not, you will not participate . . . . Soon these parents began to appear (all of them!!!), and as they appeared they received a t-shirt with the name of the Group and participated in the Carnival by holding a rope in a circle around the children to protect them from the crowds. This practice is employed by all of the blocos that participate in Carnival in Bahia, but in this case there was a dual meaning to it: a physical barrier to protect the participants and the protective barrier provided the children by their parents... Neguinho do Samba also created Samba Reggae to honor the Afro peoples of Jamaica. Jimmy Cliff came to Bahia where he performed with Neguinho. Jimmy Cliff later created a sound to honor the people of Bahia. The music of Neguinho do Samba gained international recognition and he was greeted in Japan by large crowds with great banners. The mayor of Tokyo presented him with a commemorative plate.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 15:23:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015