I'm a Social scientist, ethnomusicologist and content editor currently living in Portugal. In wonderful and sunny Lisbon I am focusing on my PhD in Ethnomusicology (UNL/FCSH). At Global Voices I collaborate as a write and translator of posts in Portuguese. I also like to suggest posts related to culture. It was during Global Voices Summit in 2010, in Chile, that I discovered the world as a small village.
Latest posts by Debora Baldelli
The Music Brazil Doesn't Want You To Be Listening To
Forbidden funk is considered proibidão or extremely forbidden in the country and originated in Rio de Janeiro's iconic hillside slums or favelas.
Documentary Explores 90s Rap Culture in Sao Paulo
Through interviews and archival footage, the documentary “Sabotage Nós” (We Sabotage), available to watch online, presents important moments of Sao Paulo's rap music in the 90s. The film tells the story of the release of the album “Rap é compromisso” (Rap Is Commitment), Sabotage's debut album. Sabotage was an important...
Brazil: Protest Posters Turned into Song
“I turned Facebook off / to show how to be tough / There is so much stuff / that one poster is not enough”. This is the translation of the chorus of the song “Brasil em Cartaz” (Brazil in Posters), a kind of collective song and video clip made from phrases on...
Brazil: Youth Documentary on Pacification in Rio's Favelas
The Project 5X Favela (5 Times Slum), which aims to give a voice to young filmmakers living in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, is now addressing the pacification process in Rio's slums. Their new documentary, 5X Pacification, intends to portray the impact of police units presence in the daily...
Brazil Approves Racial Quotas in Higher Education
The Supreme Court of Brazil has unanimously approved the adoption of racial quota policies in higher education institutions across the country. The approval of the policy brings up again the controversial debate on racial discrimination and racial inequality in the country.
Brazil: American Rapper uses classic samba cover without credit
American Rapper Curren$y is being criticized by Brazilian bloggers [pt] for using Cartola’s classic cover “Verde Que Te Quero Verde” for his new work without mentioning or giving credit to one of the most important figures of Samba and Brazilian Music.
Brazil: Mapping Online Art from the Streets of São Paulo
Arte Fora do Museu [Art outside the museum, pt] intends to map online art from the streets of São Paulo, Brazil. The project so far has mapped 100 “pieces” from grafittis, sculptures, walls and architectural works.
Brazil: Improvising Recycled Electronic Art by Gambiologia
Gambiologia is a collective of artists from Belo Horizonte inspired by the “Science of Gambiarra” – a Brazilian “trend” of adapting, improvising and finding simple and creative solutions to all kinds of everyday problems – in the context of electronic art.
Brazil: “The City's Most Beautiful Band” Wins the Internet
A musical love “prayer” was one of the hottest topics of the week on the Web in Brazil. A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade‘s video, (the name means “The City's Most Beautiful Band”) released on May 17 and recorded in a long take, has already thrilled more than 700,000 people [pt]...
Brazil: Young Man Recycles Wood by Building Instruments
David Rocha, a talented young man from São Paulo outskirts, has been building instruments from any kind of used wood, as the video in this post illustrates. Some of his accomplishments so far are a cavaquinho, a Brazilian rebec and an acoustic guitar made with wood from a cod box, all with...
Brazil: Mapping a Traditional Music Instrument Online
Rabeca.org is an online project that aims to gather and present information about the Brazilian rabeca and Guanari rawé in a map with audio recordings, photos, texts and videos. The platform offers an opportunity to explore this fascinating instrument similar to a violin, but with a regional focus and tradition.
Brazil: Flooding in the Mountainous Region of Rio de Janeiro Devastated Cities
The mountaineous region of Rio de Janeiro is suffering what is being considered Brazil’s most-deadly natural disaster: there are more than 500 fatal victims and countless people left homeless so far. This tragedy, which gives only its first steps in the aid of the victims, still doesn't allow us to assess the damage and the work to be done, but it already brings back the debate about the urgency of creating a policy for climate catastrophes in the country.
Lusophone Traditions in Malacca
Baragül, a Brazilian blogger, investigates the lusophone influence in Malacca (Malaysia). In this post he argues about some gastronomy traditions shared between Brazil, Portugal and East Timor that are also present in the former Portuguese Colony.
Brazil: Youth using citizen media to chronicle Rio violence
Young residents in the Complexo do Alemão favelas in Rio de Janeiro have begun using social and citizen media to chronicle the recent wave of violence spreading through the city. Seventeen-year-old aspiring journalist Rene Silva has set up a Twitter account, @vozdacomunidade (voice of the community) [pt], to monitor the police occupation of...
Brazil: Copyright Reform Proposal Under Consultation
A public consultation on the Brazilian Copyright Act has received over 1,200 contributions. The proposed changes have fuelled intense debate in the blogosphere and twittosphera.
Brazil: Collaborative Website on Street Dwellers
Maria Frô talks about the new website FalaRua [Street Talking], dedicated to the street dwellers of Brazil. The online community offers information about the Project for Training and Strengthening of Street Dwellers and invites everyone to participate through a quick registration. [all links in Portuguese]
Brazil: Lusophone Countries United at the Theater Stage
For the first time in Brazil, theater groups from East Timor and Sao Tome & Principe will present plays at the FESTLIP (Festival of Portuguese Language) [pt]. The festival taking place in Rio de Janeiro, also includes plays from all the other lusophone states: Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Portugal...
Brazil: High Index on Work Stress
A recent survey by Isma Brazil (International Stress Management Association) reveals that 30% of the economically active population of Brazil has already reached a burn out point at work, coming in just behind Japan. The reasons presented are long journeys, fear of dismissal and absence of a balance between effort...
Cape Verde: Rap as Socio-Political Stage
Blogger Redy Wilson Lima talks about the rescue attempt of Cape Verde identity through art [pt]. For him, rap and the hip hop movement have been the country's socio-political stage since the 90s, giving voice to the oppressed (see the local rap video “Difficult Situation“, pt).
Brazil: The Acknowledgment of Film Blogosphere as Media
The blogosphere is increasingly occupying a strategic role in the dissemination of Brazilian cinema. A large number of blogs focusing on film reviews, professional or not, has become recognized and respected.
Brazil: Michael Jackson Immortalized at a Slum in Rio de Janeiro
Michael Jackson was honored this week in Rio de Janeiro's Santa Marta Slum. The terrace where he recorded part of the video “They don't really care about us” in 1996, is now officially called “Michael Jackson Terrace” and it is also the scenario for a statue of the artist (see...
