In this week's class we talked about the Cross Bronx Expressway construction wcich helped Manhattan become the financial hub that it is today. A lot of the Bronx was destroyed because of the construction and Jewish people from middle and working classes that used to live there moved out to better neighborhoods. The Bronx became a metaphor for war zone, destruction and decay.
New residents of the bronx were now from the lowest social classes. The sense of neglect, lack of authority and resources created fights, violence and gangs. But this was soon to change. In the 70's Hip-Hop gave the opportunity for this people to battle for who's the best dancer, raper and artist and no longer which gang is the most violent. There was a shift into art-war!
It is said that destruction, changing conditions, feeling of being neglected all bring the creativity out of people and ways of expressing themselves in art. This is what happened in the Bronx in the 70's. But not only in the Bronx......
Brazil is one of the world's major hip hop scenes, with active rap, break dance and graffiti scenes especially in Sao Paulo, where groups tend to have a more international style
Os Gemeos: "The Twins" - two of the most famous Brazilian graffiti artist in the world
Capoeira - which is huge in Brazil - contains similarities in their footwork, groundwork and upside-down movememnt, leading some to theorize that capoeira gave birth to breakdancing
Breakdance - very popular specially in Sao Paulo
In the future I will post more about each of these hip-hop elements.
But right now I would like to talk about how violence can shift towards art...
The clash of different social classes in Brazil is very visible to anyone's eyes. The slums, known as the Favelas, are home for 6% of the Brazilian population(about 11,4 million of people)
Brazilian Rappers like Racionais MC's (one of the major., popular Rap groups in Brazil) focus on criticizing the city's unequal wealth distribution, the lack of opportunity for people living in Slams and Sao Pualo state's corrupt government. The Favelas are mentioned in songs and so are local and national issues.
This song, called "Chapter 4, Verse 3" starts by giving the following facts regarding reality in Brazil:
- 60% of young people living in periphery without criminal records have suffered police violence;
- For every four people killed by the police, three are black;
- In Brazilian universities, only 2% of students are black;
- Every four hours a young black man dies violently in Sao Paulo;
- "Here is Cousin Black, another survivor."
Racionais memebers all come from the favela. They all share a common feeling of neglect, of destruction, of being left out and forgotten. Many of the people residing in favelas very often become part of the Drug Traffic. Many die, many spend their lives in jail, many kill in order to survive. They form gangs who are constantly in war against the police and generate a tremendous violence.
Racionais are different though. They chose art and hip hop as a way to express themselves They are unanimously regarded as the voice of the suburbs. Their lyrics talk about discrimination against black people, the mistreatment by the police, the lack of education for kids, drug addiction and how people involved with the drug traffic either end up dead or in jail.
Instead of forming gangs and acting violently, they chose to use their music to reach young people with low income and protest using their voices against the oppression of the marginalized population in Favelas. Regardless of using their music to protest against the oppression and not using violence, still all the members of Racionais have been arrested by the police while performing in their shows, over charges of inciting violence - police violence is a frequent theme in the group's lyrics. But did this not keep them from writing more lyrics and having their voices heard - this just increased the group's popularity and success.
The group sold over their career about 1 million albums, all the band members are still alive, are free and are making money, while many of the people they grew up with are involved with the drug traffic, arrested or dead......
Here I finish for today, sending a positive message out: Art is many times the answer!
Cheers,
T
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