Rhythm and Harmony: Treme Terra/ Brazil

By Richard Lakin

About a month ago, I was in São Paulo, Brazil to produce a documentary about the Treme Terra project: an initiative that brings together youth from diverse backgrounds in the Morro do Querosene neighborhood…an area known for its strong Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions. In 2008, Treme Terra received an award from the Programa IAM, Iniciative Jovem Anhembi Morumbi, the YouthActionNet® National Institute in Brazil, which is sponsored by the International Youth Foundation, the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, and the Sylvan/Laureate Foundation.

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the world’s seventh largest metropolitan area. The view from my hotel window was a vast expanse of high-rise buildings that stretched as far into the distance as the curve of the earth. There is the constant buzz of helicopters landing on rooftops, circumventing the snarled traffic below. A significant financial center of South America, São Paulo has one of the most diverse populations in the world, and throughout its history people have come from every corner of the globe to make their fortunes in coffee, lumber, and rubber. This international mix is reflected everywhere in its arts, culinary offerings, and cultural landmarks.

The Morro do Querosene neighborhood is becoming gentrified, with an increasing university and young professional population. There is rehab construction everywhere. The streets are lined with houses reflecting an eclectic mix of architectural styles, and many have colorful murals decorating their exterior walls. Some murals depict the ethnic diversity or the cultural heritage of the neighborhood.

In 2006, Ronaldo Gonçalves Alves and João Victor P. do Nascimento co-founded Treme Terra to encourage harmony within the diverse population of the neighborhood youth through a program of music and art that focuses on the cultural legacy of the area. Treme Terra is loosely translated as “earth shaking.” It’s also the name of a bassy, powerful drum used in some styles of samba. The project aims to dissolve ethnic and socio-economic barriers, and the xenophobia that these barriers produce.

When we arrived, neighborhood kids were filing through the streets of Morro do Querosene on their way to a rehearsal, carrying a variety of drums and other traditional musical instruments. The Treme Terra participants reflect a variety of São Paulo’s ethnicities and socio-economic situations.

The first thing that you notice is how engaged in the program these kids are. There is a sincere interest in becoming proficient performers of a repertoire of Afro-Brazilian musical and dance pieces. The show was much more professional than I had expected. Moreover, as you watch the interaction between the kids, you realize that the program actually works to bring kids together in a multicultural environment. There was a lot of visible camaraderie and respect. It also gives the local youth a focus at an impressionable stage of their life.

João expressed it best: “We are in search of one dream….a world without barriers to diversity.”

To view the Treme Terra documentary, click here.

About Richard Lakin Richard Lakin is a co-founder of 18 rabbits digital media, a social entrepreneurial project that gives the world’s youth a voice, and is an advocate for student-produced new media. Richard has produced international media for NGOs, CSR, community outreach, and non-profits all over the world.