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The caboclos de lança (spears) are the warriors of Ogun. Descendants of slaves. They dress in luxury and shine during Carnival days in the small town of Nazaré da Mata.
Their delicate collars are embroidered with Portuguese tiles. Their hair made of colored cellophane shines in the sun and brings their spiritual guide close to them (yellow: Oxum; blue: Oxóssi; red: Xangô). Their spears reinforce their warrior nature. They carry bells, large and heavy, with the sound of the cane cutters' machetes.
This almost mythical figure is the main character of Maracatu de Baque Solto, a form of celebration that was born in the interior of Pernambuco and has a very close relationship with the sugarcane culture and with the African origins of the players.
Their sambada is engaging and charming: full of jumps, turns, falls and clashes. Dancing and playing with clothing that weighs around 30kg is always a huge challenge, but at the same time, a proof of the great capacity to overcome obstacles that this warrior people certainly have.
The pride of playing as a caboclo is passed on from generation to generation: proof of the resistance (physical and cultural) that keeps the party so active and vibrant.
PHOTOS
Is it possible to question a tradition and, at the same time, reinforce it?
Is it possible to combine grace and strength in the same act?
The group of Maracatu Feminino Coração Nazareno is living proof that all this is possible: a group composed exclusively of women, which defies the tradition that only men can play Carnival as caboclos de lança (spears) of the Maracatu Rural.
They show, in small details, the vanity that every woman carries within her. They take care of each other. They dance in clothing that weighs over 30 kg and, contrary to sexist predictions that there would be no interest in attending women's performances, they have a busy schedule and an ever-large audience, helping to reinforce the importance of this local tradition in Pernambuco.
Just like the men, they show clear signs of tiredness after a marathon of presentations, but, like them, they explode with pride for having been able to finish one more dance and one more presentation in the long journey of Carnival.
More than a contemporary discourse of female empowerment, these women give a living example of how it is possible to rescue the union between being a warrior and being female.
Considered the weaker sex, they show girls, from a young age, that they can be and do everything they want and dream of.
PHOTOS
Female Maracatu "Coração Nazareno"
TRADITIONAL MUSIC
CHARACTERS
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