Serrinha children enjoy jongo

Aunt Maria, living memory of Jongo

In Brazil, specially in Rio de Janeiro, the mounts that are inside the city are special and different places. There, threaded between building and normal houses, favelascommunities are where many poor people live.

One of the beauties little known and kept with all affection for one of these communities, of the Serrinha Mount, in Madureira quarter, is the "Jongo" community.
Jongo is a dance, a party and also a ritual that was popular between ancient black slaves. With slavery end, on XIX century, the blacks lefts the coffe and sugar cane farms and went to other regions. One of these regions was Rio de Janeiro city, at the time, country capital. Over there they had formed many communities in the mounts.

Serrinha was one of the first ones communities to be born, around 1900, besides Mangueira, São Carlos and Salgueiro. The Jongo, one of the seeds of the samba and the current samba schools, is one of the strong characters of this black culture: it mixes music, dances, religion, party, the delivery and the union of who participates of it.



In the Serrinha it comes mainly being continued for a family, of Master Darcy besides a lot of friends. The Cultural Group Jongo of the Serrinha, in the Serrinha Mount , is a work that started in 1975 by Master Darcy, a great musician that died on 2001, in December, with 69 years. Today his son, Darcy Filho, the niece Dila and his Aunt Maria continues his work, that shows the beauty of the old black culture in Brazil and mostly continues attracting the children with its art, music and wisdom.

Aunt Maria, 80 years, an alive "jongueiros" - jongo players - memory on Rio de Janeiro city, was born in Serrinha and was created with Master Darcy. "When small, all of we found in the house of Maria Joana granma to attend the dances. At that time, child could not participate. But when we arrived in house, we improvised batuques with cans, we danced and we sang. Jongo always was our passion", remembers she. Jongo was danced in the houses of the mount, in the day of the saint of the devotion of each family. As in the old slave houses, or senzalas, it started to the midnight and then crossed the dawn: In the center of a wheel, a solist improvised songs based on daily situations or religious songs called "pontos", small verses with melody and a proper rhythm, that were answered in choir, matching row, singing, dancing, religiosity and playing.



Kids actually still fun themselves in the Cultural Center Jongo of the Serrinha, a NGO created by the cultural group. There are rhythm and dance lessons of jongo and afro-primitive, capoeira Angola, maculelê, arts and theater classes. Approximately 100 children pass the entire day in the cultural hall. "My father had this conscience to take off the children of the streets and at the same time to pass a knowledge to them", says Darcy Filho.
Children confirm that. "If it was not the shoot out that some times we listen, the Serrinha would be perfect. I pass the entire day here when I am on vacation", discloses Fernanda Brito, 8 years, a center pupil has two years. Cinara Nascimento also agrees to her friend: the jongo is her favourite lesson. "It is full, because it has dance, singing and musical instruments." The profession that they want to have when to grow? The two had chosen already: jongo dancers. Fernanda concludes: " I do not want to never leave here"

Adapted from www.vivafavela.com.br

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