São Bernardo of All Peoples: Cultural Turn celebrates immigrant traditions

São Bernardo of All Peoples celebrates immigrant heritage

To honour the traditions of immigrants who have helped build and develop São Bernardo over 473 years, the City Hall, under Marcelo Lima’s administration, will hold the second edition of ‘São Bernardo of All Peoples’ this Saturday and Sunday, 22 and 23 August. From 10am, Chácara Silvestre Park will host free dance and music performances, alongside other expressions reflecting the character of every region of Brazil and different parts of the world. The initiative forms part of the city’s Cultural Turn programme, taking place from 21 to 23 August.

Among the attractions at ‘São Bernardo of All Peoples’, visitors will be able to enjoy rhythms from Venezuela, Syria, Italy, Spain and Paraguay. Traditional Lion and Dragon dances from Japan and China will also entertain audiences. Northeastern Brazilian culture is likewise confirmed in the line-up, which will also include an area devoted to the typical cuisine of these regions.

“São Bernardo’s greatest cultural wealth comes from the blending of characteristics and origins, from people who arrived from every corner in search of a better life. It is a land of opportunities, where dreams have been fulfilled and roots have been preserved. We will celebrate our history by presenting the public with a sample of this powerful, resilient culture, which has crossed decades and centuries, and continues to inspire us and shape our city’s identity,” said São Bernardo’s Secretary of Culture, Samara Dinis.

Cultural Turn in São Bernardo

The ‘São Bernardo of All Peoples’ attractions are part of the Cultural Turn programme, organised by the City Hall from 21 to 23 August. Included in the municipality’s 473rd-anniversary celebrations, the event features more than 50 attractions for all ages and across a range of art forms, from music to circus, presented by the City Hall and the Culture Factory. Activities will take place across ten decentralised venues, from Riacho Grande to Taboão.

Opening the Cultural Turn concert series on Friday, 21 August, the Culture Factory (70 Armando Ítalo Setti Avenue, Centre) will welcome Fanieh, performing an original repertoire spanning R&B, funk, afrobeat and rap. The singer is known for playing MC Luzi in Netflix series Sintonia. Earlier at the same venue, audiences can enjoy a large zumba class, an afternoon of games and recreational activities, and a performance by May Pires.

On Saturday, 22 August, one of the highlights will be a reggae-focused programme at Youth Park, in the Centre, with shows by Sapo Banjo, Guerreiros de Judá and Mato Seco from 3pm. Earlier, the venue will host metal performances by Lethal and Necromancia. Also that day, Machado de Assis Library (284 Araguaia Avenue, Riacho Grande) will stage theatre productions exploring African ancestry, the work of João Guimarães Rosa, and puppet theatre based on Indigenous mythology tales.

On Sunday, 23 August, rapper Dexter will headline the Cultural Turn at Youth Park with songs recounting struggles against racism and life on the outskirts. Jácomo Guazzelli Cultural Centre (201 Rosa Pacheco Street, Ferrazópolis) will host ‘Knitting Words: The Wings of Luíza, the Bird Girl’, featuring storytelling, theatre and music performances. Afterwards, Miryan Lopez’s ‘What You Gave Us, Northeast’ will pay tribute to the people of northeastern Brazil.

São Bernardo of All Peoples programme

22 August (Saturday)

SÃO BERNARDO OF ALL PEOPLES - CHÁCARA SILVESTRE PARK
1,800 Wallace Simonsen Avenue - Nova Petrópolis

• 10.30am - São José Band - Harmony in Motion
• 12.30pm - Maria Alejandra and Isabel Alejandra - Venezuela in Song
• 1pm - Evandro Moura
• 2pm - SBC Viola Caipira Orchestra and guests with Leandro de Abreu
• 3.20pm - Long Fei Martial Arts Institute - Lion Dance and Dragon Dance
• 4.10pm - Bolivian Dance
• 4.30pm - Venezuelan Dance - Remis Joropo Venezuelo
• 5.10pm - Juntos e Misturados Company - The Ground I Left, the Root I Carry

23 August (Sunday)

SÃO BERNARDO OF ALL PEOPLES - CHÁCARA SILVESTRE PARK
1,800 Wallace Simonsen Avenue - Nova Petrópolis

• 10am - Union of Associations - Traditional Folk Dance
• 1.20pm - Belly Dance - Representing Arab and Syrian Culture
• 2pm - Shaolin Kung Fu Training Centre
• 2.40pm - Camiños de España Group
• 3.20pm - Jeroky Paraguay Mi Pasión
• 4pm - Salomé Gypsy Dance Company

São Bernardo Cultural Turn programme

21 August (Friday)

SBC Culture Factory 4.0
70 Armando Ítalo Setti Avenue - Centre

• 10am - Film Screening - MIS Point
• 1.20pm - Pop Rock Show with May Pires
• 2.30pm to 5pm - Afternoon of games and recreational activities
• 3pm - Moving at the Factory - Large zumba class
• 8pm - Fanieh show

22 August (Saturday)

YOUTH PARK
65 Armando Ítalo Setti Avenue - Centre

• 12.30pm - Makv - Lethal - Metal Show
• 2pm - Necromancia: 42 Years - Thrash Metal Show
• 3pm - Sapo Banjo: 30 Years - Ska, Reggae, Rocksteady and Punk
• 5pm - Guerreiros de Judá - Reggae Show
• 7.30pm - Mato Seco - Reggae

MACHADO DE ASSIS LIBRARY
284 Araguaia Avenue - Riacho Grande

• 1.30pm - Sônia Cardoso Miranda: Echo of Ancestry - Performance about African ancestry, memory and cultural identity
• 3.30pm - Feitosa: The Sound of Quiet Boys - Performance inspired by the work of João Guimarães Rosa
• 5.30pm - Celso Ohi - I Saw a Story - Puppet theatre based on Indigenous mythology tales

EUGÊNIO COLONNESE COMICS LIBRARY
824 Dr. Fláquer Street - Centre

• 12pm - Magazine, comic book and manga swap fair
• 1pm - Comics Library: Gateways to Cultural Multiverses - Discussion on comics libraries as spaces that encourage reading. Lilian Lorente Araújo, Carlos Donizete Foganholi and mediation by Aline
• 2pm - Raphael Ranieri: Is It a Comic Book, Manga or Comics? - Discussion on stylistic differences between comic-art schools
• 3pm - Guilherme Pompermayer: Andreia Ghost Radio in the Mist - Creative writing and oral storytelling workshop inspired by urban imagination, fantasy literature, comics and geek culture
• 4pm - Gustavo Clive: Do Humans Dream of Electric Humans? - Talk on AI, philosophy and science fiction through literature, cinema and geek culture

PAULICÉIA RECREATION, SPORTS AND CULTURE CENTRE
460 Francisco Alves Street - Paulicéia

• 4pm - Ricardo Avellar: Analogue Broth - Travelling Photography Studio - Analogue photography intervention using large-format cameras and handcrafted chemical development
• 4pm - CREC Gypsy Dance Group
• 4pm - CREC Paulicéia Choir
• 4.30pm - CREC Band
• 5pm - Mariana Sancar and Carol Lorac: Metamos Show - With Brazilian Sign Language interpreter Carol Ribeiro
• 6pm - Walter Sky: Between Strings and Memories - Musical performance alternating original songs and celebrated Brazilian popular music works
• 7pm - Knot in the Stone: Samba, Choro and Other Styles - Pixinguinha, Jacob do Bandolim, João Nogueira, Cartola and others

RAPHAEL LAZZURI PARK
1111 Kennedy Avenue - Vila Tereza

• 2.30pm - Clown Arguia: Audacity - Humour, acrobatics and juggling
• 4pm - Well-Crafted Circus: Light Counterweight - Contemporary circus performance combining clowning, acrobatics, juggling and balancing

LÁZARO PINTO DE AZEVEDO CULTURAL CENTRE
1205 Alfredo Bernardo Leite Street - Taboão

• 2pm - Marcelo Monthesi: Origin of the Cirandas - Playful and interactive storytelling
• 5pm - Menelão: Training Clown - A competition to see who makes the most mistakes. Dramaturgy revisiting the tradition of tent circus through a contemporary lens
• 7pm - Urban Quilombo Soirée: Poetic Paths - Poetry, music and artistic interventions

23 August (Sunday)

YOUTH PARK
65 Armando Ítalo Setti Avenue - Centre

• 2pm - Praiera Block: A Journey Through the Northeast - Forró, baião, xote, arrasta-pé, ciranda and maracatu show, among other styles
• 5pm - People’s Tribunal: Bad and DJ Lord - Rap Show
• 7.30pm - Dexter

RONALDO NUNES DA SILVA COMMUNITY SPORTS CENTRE
2230 Padre Léo Commissari Street - Areião

• 3pm - Cotelê Family: Between Stitches - Street circus performance with clowns Arguta and Musir
• 5pm - Slamcomx - Spoken-word poetry competition

JÁCOMO GUAZZELLI CULTURAL CENTRE
201 Rosa Pacheco Street - Ferrazópolis

• 10am - Knitting Words: The Wings of Luíza, the Bird Girl - Storytelling, theatre and music performances
• 11am - Live Through Dance: the Dance That Unites Generations - Dance performance with a ballroom-dance experience
• 1pm - Miryan Lopez: What You Gave Us, Northeast! Musical performance honouring the people of northeastern Brazil

CACILDA BECKER THEATRE
50 Samuel Sabatini Square - Centre

• 5pm - Regina Pacis Theatre Group: Women
  Performance recalling why International Women’s Day is celebrated and highlighting the stories of famous and anonymous women