In 1975, a revolution occurred during Bahia’s carnival that would change not only the way Carnival was celebrated, but also the very culture of Brazil. Ilê Aiyê paraded as the first ever bloco-afro.
With music that referenced black power, celebrated black beauty, and proclaimed that blacks built Brazil, Ilê Aiyê was fearless in its politics. Not only was the group challenging Brazil’s “racial paradise” paradigm, but it was also organizing in direct conflict with the military dictatorship’s repression of novel cultural manifestations.
Ilê Aiyê was founded in 1974 by Antonio Carlos dos Santos, or Vovô as he is known to fans around the world, and Apolônio de Jesus. Their mission was to create a group that honored African and Afro-Brazilian culture, fought against racism, and instilled pride in the black community of Salvador. Based in Liberdade, the blackest neighborhood in the blackest city in Brazil, Ilê Aiyê was unapologetically for blacks, by blacks.
The group faced great obstacles in its early years, including people who considered it racist and black Brazilians who did not self-identify as blacks. After Ilê Aiyê’s first Carnival appearance, A Tarde, Salvador’s largest newspaper, accused it of being racist and imitating the politics of blacks in the United States. The article said, “Fortunately, we [in Brazil] don’t have a race problem. This is one of the great joys of the Brazilian people…” and went on to suggest that Ilê Aiyê present a less controversial theme next year.
But Ilê Aiyê never wavered in its mission or its politics, and in its wake, dozens of other bloco-afros formed, including the world-renowned Olodum and Ara-Ketu, and as Muzena and os Malê de Balê.
Today, Ilê Aiyê has various programs aimed at raising awareness of Afro-Brazilian culture, including three schools. Every year, a few weeks before Carnival, it hosts “Beleza Negra”, a pageant/talent show/party that celebrates black beauty and selects a Goddess of Ebony who will dance atop its float and represent Ilê Aiyê around the world.
Ilê Aiyê has truly changed the way Brazilians celebrate Carnival and think about their country.
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