{"id":206405,"date":"2018-12-19T07:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T10:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=206405"},"modified":"2019-06-30T16:32:31","modified_gmt":"2019-06-30T19:32:31","slug":"zahi-hawass-sees-egypt-themed-samba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/zahi-hawass-sees-egypt-themed-samba\/","title":{"rendered":"Zahi Hawass sees Egypt-themed samba"},"content":{"rendered":"

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 The front line of the parade of S\u00e3o Paulo samba school Vai Vai in the 2019 Carnaval will be Egypt-themed. It will tell the story of the Nubian, or Kushite Dynasty, of black pharaohs from Kush \u2013 currently Sudan. The Kushites reigned in Egypt for about 100 years during the 8th<\/sup> century, and left a legacy in agriculture, architecture and writing.<\/p>\n

That is why the samba school\u2019s warehouse, where the allegorical floats are being built and the costumes are being sewn up, welcomed Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt\u2019s ambassador in Bras\u00edlia, Alaa Roushdy, and Egypt\u2019s commercial consul in S\u00e3o Paulo, Mohamed Alkhatib, this Tuesday (18). The delegation was welcomed by Vai Vai president Darly Silva, directors Renato Candido and Pedro Henrique, composer Marcelo Casa Nossa and designer Roberto Monteiros.<\/p>\n

Vai Vai\u2019s theme song Quilombo do Futuro<\/em> (Future Quilombo) celebrates Afrofuturism and the school\u2019s black roots. Vai Vai was founded in 1930 in S\u00e3o Paulo\u2019s Bixiga neighborhood, where a quilombo (runaway slave dwelling) once existed. Monteiros said the song fits within the Afrofuturistic concept: \u201cIt\u2019s a historical fiction piece that looks to reveal a past whitened down by the Eurocentric narrative, to occupy the present and project the future, using concepts from the 1970s, with a movement that had existed since the 1930s, when they realized black people weren\u2019t portrayed in science fiction books. That\u2019s what begot the movement,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

The idea is to portray the central role played by black people throughout human civilization, starting with Egypt. The Horus section, which includes a 17 meter-high, 80 meter-long front-end allegorical float and the 100-strong community wing, mestre-sala<\/em> and porta-bandeira <\/em>(the lead couple), some 80 Bahianas dressed as Candaces (a dynasty of warrior kings) and over 60 people parading in Egypt-inspired costumes.<\/p>\n

The allegories represent Egyptian gods like Horus (the Sun god), Anubis (god of the dead), Apis (the god of agriculture) and Isis (the goddess of love and magic), and emblematic animals like the serpent, the dog, the lion and the eagle, as well as pharaohs, sarcophagi and sphynxes, all of which are symbols of the age-old Egyptian culture. \u201cWith this plotline, we are telling the story that books don\u2019t tell \u2013 that black people aren\u2019t the descendants of slaves, but of kings and queens,\u201d said Renato Candido.<\/p>\n

(Story continues after photo gallery)<\/em><\/p>\n