Carnival Mask

0.05 – 0.24 As a Brazilian, I love Carnival! We like to say that the year really only starts after Carnival. A really nice thing that we do is actually to create our own costumes. So, I will wear a full costume that is inspired by something. 0.24 – 0.48 In this case, I'm inspired by my own culture. So, I'm Brazil! I created this mask. It represents that we are a nation of constant movement. We are a dynamic people who are coming together in many points, but also different. 0.50 – 1.14 It has the three colours of our flag; blue, yellow, green. We are proudly united by them because we are not Brazilians necessarily by blood because we are a nation that is formed through migration. So, you have people from all over the world. My mask, through the lines, it shows in the face the resilience of the people. 1.15 – 1.38 A lot of culture comes from struggle and samba is no different. Samba was seen as the Black people's culture, the ex-enslaved people's culture. It was not seen as beautiful and overall Brazilian representation back then. 1.39 – 2.06 Carnival before was a party that was brought especially from Europe. So they brought the party to Brazil. But from that beginning of the last century, little by little, samba started to be something that was more accepted socially. White people started to hear samba and not feel threatened by it. 2.07 – 2.29 Samba started to enter Carnival and actually became the biggest musical expression from Carnival. And it remains like this until this day. As a Brazilian woman, as a Afro-Brazilian woman, a Black woman, samba feels a intimate part of my culture. 2.30 – 2.52 We had a culture that resisted oppression, resisted the criminalisation of that culture. We resisted through music, through songs and it's even more beautiful to see that we actually grew beyond the barriers of color and class. So, it's something for everyone. 2.56 – 3.15 As a migrant here, I decided to be in this place, but at the same time, having the opportunity to bring samba with you and meet other Brazilians who also have the same necessity of community, is something that is close to my heart. 3.17 – 3.58 From time to time, we come together and we play samba, we sing samba, we dance samba to feel the feelings and remember why those songs were written. We were actually translating some of the lyrics and the volunteers they said, "Wow, you are singing such harsh things, but you are singing with an upbeat style!”. So, it was beautiful to actually see that sometimes when we bring this across the world, we want to show people how resilient we are. 3.59 – 4.18 We've managed to transform all of this pain, all of this hurt into a beautiful culture. And we love to celebrate. They also bring others to celebrate with us. It's part of me. No matter where I am in the world, it's with me.