BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: Visitors to the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park yesterday sampled a slice of the rich Brazilian culture at the opening of the first-ever Brazil Festival featuring an exciting lineup of performances from Brazilian artistes.
The three-day festival featuring Brazilian music, dance, art and cuisine is a vital element of the year-long Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture programme.
“Brazil Festival forms a key part of Qatar-Brazil Year of Culture which witnessed a number of exciting projects organised to date both in Qatar and Brazil, such as an exhibition of photos taken by Qatari and Brazilian photographers showing how the two cultures are viewed through each other’s eyes,” Philip Jon Lawrie, Qatar Museums Chief Commercial Officer, told a pre-opening press conference yesterday.
Lawrie said the “the full year programme now culminates with this weekend’s Brazil Festival which will give us a taste of Brazil’s rich culture right here in Doha to be attended by several brilliant Brazilian artists.”
As the Qatar Brazil Year of Culture draws to an end, Viviane Rios Balbino, Charge D’Affaires, Brazilian Embassy, thanked “the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage and the Qatar Museums for putting together the year-long event despite the challenges such as the large geographic distance between the two countries.”
The festival, Balbino said, was the main event during the year exclusively dedicated to Brazilian culture which people should see and enjoy.
“It is undeniable our culture is one of our greatest wealth, one that can be shared equally by all. You may have never heard of our GDP, but anywhere in the world if you hear the word samba or capoeira you immediately think of Brazil; that is how powerful culture is,” she said.
Qatar’s residents had a sense of the roots of samba, the backbone of Brazilian music at yesterday’s launch of the festival led by H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage and was highlighted by an exuberant performance by Samba Chula de Sao Braz, one of the most thrilling Brazilian bands.
The group is part of the history of the Bahian Samba de Roda (dance circle), listed as intangible heritage of humanity by Unesco from 2005. It attracts attention in Brazil and abroad demonstrating the creative potential of popular culture through dance and music.
Their performances continue today and tomorrow at 5pm. In addition ‘Cool-jazz’ performer Santos will perform at 9pm tonight and 11.30am tomorrow, as well as Doha Jazz at 4pm today and at 3.15pm tomorrow.
There are also workshops including a graffiti workshop with acclaimed Brazilian street artist Speto, samba drumming workshop, samba dance workshop, copoeira demonstration and workshop. Other activities include Brazilian story-telling sessions and carnival mask-making and face painting.
“As Platinum sponsors of the Qatar Brazil Year of Culture, Qatar Petroleum International (QPI) is pleased to endorse the Brazil Festival, which celebrates the country through music, story-telling, football and the finest Brazilian cuisine. QPI is proud to play a role in promoting Qatar’s economic, diplomatic, and cultural ties to Brazil, following our investment in an oil producing asset in offshore Brazil, called BC-10,” said Ahmed Al Ahmed, Executive Director of Upstream.
Rob Sherwin, Deputy Country Chairman, Qatar Shell said: “We are very proud to sponsor the Qatar Brazil 2014 Year of Culture, which brings us and other key organisations in Qatar together to celebrate the richness of Qatari and Brazilian cultures and to appreciate their distinctive contributions to the world.”
The Peninsula
