Bahian music artist, Rafael Pondé talks DJ Soul Rebel about Bahia and the world sounds of Brazilian music on Roots Rock Reggae radio show at Takoma Park Radio, 94.3 FM.
Interview, Part 1
Watch part 2 of the interview here.
Also, check out one of his recent releases, a collaboration with Batalá Washington, Jah Innocence.
Mulheres de Axé (Women of Axé) is a short documentary–with English subtitles–about the Bahian women of Candomblé and their roles in leading the community, keeping their culture alive, and being at the forefront of the struggle against religious intolerance and discrimination from evangelicals. The video features many of the same women featured in another documentary called Cidade das Mulheres (City of Women) which goes deeper into the exploration of the topic of race and gender and reveals Afro-Bahian women as leaders, cultural sustainers, and the heart and soul of Salvador.
In 1979, the second bloco, Olodum, was led by Mestre Neguinho do Samba. Mestre Neguinho do Samba was also a former drum leader of Ilê Aiyê and he re-introduced the hand and stick style of playing the repinique drum. Following Olodum was Timbalada, which is an afro-bloco that was directed by Carlinhos Brown who brought back the playing of the timbal drum, which was nearly extinct.
Because of these three groups, samba reggae bands such as Didá, Cortejo Afro, of course Batalá, and many others came into existence and created their own samba-reggae rhythms. Through Samba-Reggae (also known as Afro-Reggae), music genres such as Axé came along and until this very day samba-reggae inspires many people to create, live, and love.
Listen to the sounds and watch the images in this documentary about the birth of samba-reggae. There are no English subtitles, but the music speaks for itself.
