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São Paulo – The beat of the Unidos da Vila Maria’s samba themes will resound through the halls of Yas Mall, in Abu Dhabi, from February 22 to 25. The samba school from the north side of São Paulo is one of the highlights of the Brazilian Festival, an event organized, in partnership, by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the emirate’s mall.
It will be the first time that the samba school performs in an Arab country, according to Fabiano Zavanella, director of Unidos da Vila Maria. “We have high expectations. We’ll have the opportunity to represent our culture and our samba, plus show the greatness of the school and its social and cultural activities,” he said.
The samba school’s delegation will include its president, Adilson José de Souza, a couple directors, a translator, the mestre-sala e porta-bandeira (master of ceremony and flag-carrier) couple, a carnival dancer and four percussionists. They will perform 15-minutes shows during the opening and four times a day during the festival.
Unidos da Vila Maria will use the opportunity to get to know the Arab culture and search for inspiration to use in future parades. In 2018, Mexico was the school’s theme in Carnival, just as Japan and South Korea were in past Carnival parades. According to Zavanella, the school will talk with the United Arab Emirates government for a partnership for a future parade.
“This trip makes a lot of sense not only because of the performances, but also due to the possibility of the school to, in the future, portray the history of a people as great as UAE’s,” he explained.
Brazilian products
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Five exhibitors already confirmed their presence at the Brazilian Festival, an event that aims to strengthen the ties, culturally and commercially, between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates. Sorali, Flora Brasil and Sweeteez, from the cosmetics sector, Solótica, contact lens manufacturer, MZ Artes, with its paintings, and blogger Lú Braga, who lives in Lebanon, will have kiosks at Yas Mall’s main hall.
In addition to Vila Maria and the exhibitors, the people at Yas Mall will be able to watch a performance by Monica and Friends, presentations of jiu-jitsu and capoeira, and photo and signing session with Brazilian skater Bob Burnquist.
There’s still room for exhibitors interested in presenting their products to the Yas Mall audience. Registrations can be done at http://bit.ly/2BKmCQi.
Quick info
Brazilian Festival
February 22 to 25, 2018
Where: Yas Mall, in Abu Dhabi
Free admission
For companies interested in exhibiting, registrations are open at http://bit.ly/2BKmCQi
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
