Presented in 35 cities so far, plus another year to circulate the globe, the music documentary, āFavela on Blastā has been on a worldwide tour, exposing national and international audiences to the Rio de Janeiro phenomena of āfunk cariocaā .
The musical word āFunkā resonates many different meanings and interpretations across the world, but in Rio de Janeiro, funk is the face of the city. Funk is a type of dance music out of Rio, and it is also referred to as funk Carioca (Rio funk); it is a lifestyle and a culture, which for the past 20 years has defined the music of the Rio favelas. Recycling the music of the United States, āfunk cariocaā is a byproduct of the Brasilian (Rio) ghetto, to which everyone can be cultuarally connected.
āThe first thing kids learn in the favela is funk cultureā
This is a straightforward, humorous, unapologetic film, which depicts Rioās, āfunkā music, (also interpreted as ābaile funkā) as the most natural outlet and creative response to life in the favela, by the people of the favelas. This documentary could have easily had turned into a typical āissuesā film , but that is not the case at all. It isnāt that the antagonizing degradation of the favela life and social strains of these people are ignored, but the film organically shows that there is more to life in the favela, besides struggle and strife. Rather, the filmmakers, Leandro Hbl and Wesley Pentz (Diplo), find a genuine, natural balance to these elements and stay true to their vision of exposing a musical and cultural as something that is ācoolā and exciting. āFavela on Blastā not only educates audiences about the history of funk carioca, how in the past twenty years this genre of music has blossomed from its Miami Bass derivative; but it highlights the numerous funk artists telling their own personal relationship to funk and what it means to them, and how it is shaping their future. The stories of seasoned DJs , as well as emerging artists on Rioās funk scene are featured such as: MC Deise Tigrona, Mr. Catra, Mc Duda Do Borell, Mc Colibri, Mcs Gorila and Preto and Dj Sany Pitbull plus, many more. This documentary teaches about a sound that has been created in a city of violence and oppression. Funk carioca produces a livelihood for the musicians of this movement. The filmmakers show how these funk sounds unite the people and children of the Rio favela communities who breathe and live by the beats. The music is vulgar, fast, magnetic and provocative, which to some audiences, may be disconcerting or misinterpreted. But āFavela on Blastā defends the notion that it is not violence comes from baile funk. Baile funk is an outlet from the violence of the socially marginalized. These musicians, mothers, fathers, young women and men, and children are unapologetic, and proud of the music that comes from their home. āFavela on Blastā epitomizes how, without even realizing it, the people of the Rio favelas have reinvented a sound that is crossing boundaries and borders , that has put Rio on the map, and has created a movement that will not fade away.
