Listening to the bouyant and joyous Brazilian singer (and anthropologist) Dona Onete's music is to feel an awakening blast or surge of joy. Her album, which my husband bought while we were in Brazil, evokes a party very particular to Brazil - a vibrancy so bright and easy and normal to exist in the everyday - not reserved for special occasions or celebrations (or Carnivale!)- with beaches booming with sound, and dancing and playing on the beach, day and night, and musicians strumming in restaurants aside people eating. I listen to her album when I'm already in the mood to dance, but also to scoop me out of a slump- and this kind of loud shock of rhythm, can bring in a sense of Brazil, and real happiness, into my living room, even within stagnant or dark times. Her voice booms, and makes you dance and can drown everything else out for a bit, and just might make your day better, which feels like something we all may need right now. I highly recommend you listen to her album - Banzeiro- I've included the Spotify link below!
When I saw Dona's face on these albums- beautiful and warm, emitting a kindness and confidence- with a smile that can't help make you smile (photos of her below!), I knew I had to paint her. What came out was a bit of a mess of color (which I don't feel does justice to her beauty, but hope that some of her joyous essence came through)- a blend of shades of blue that are on the album, of photos of her sitting in a boat, on the ocean.
In Bahia, Brazil, where I stayed and travelled with my husband 2 years ago, the ocean, and tributes to it- or actually the goddess, or orixá, of it, is everywhere. Walking alongside the highway, or the main streets of Salvador, the ocean is right there- waves crashing into mist. In Rio, the beaches are dense with people on any given day, as men weave their way walking through the sand selling beer, lounge chairs, various massages, with music blasting. (They often take a seat on their cooler by you and talk for a long time while making their pitch, sometimes kindly giving something for free before eventually moving along.) There are statues of Iemanjá (Yeh-mahn-jah), the goddess (or orixá) of the ocean throughout the city (pictured below)- who is the most worshipped goddess throughout the country. She is seen in paintings that cover the walls of restaurants throughout restaurants, and there are hotels with whole rooms dedicated to her, painted blue in her honor. In Bahia, the ocean is not taken for granted. You can find a note below (that is just barely skimming the surface) on Brazil's Yoruba religion.
But back to Dona Onete- when I looked her up, I was amazed by what I found (though I want to find more!) - she had her debut album at 73 years old, after joining a local band in her 60s (she is now 85), though she has been singing and researching rhythms and dances of her hometown of Igarapé-Miri in Brazil for a lifetime. But not only is she this amazing singer and musician, but an anthropologist and researcher - she conducted research into rhythms, dances and traditions of the region she is from- Igarapé-Mir, and she teaches history and amazonian studies. In her music- she developed a genre- carimbó chamegado, which the Variety article below, announcing a feature film coming out about her, described as "a music genre traditional of Para, the Northern Brazilian state located in the Amazon Rainforest region."
Below are photos and interviews with her, an album and music video, along with my portraits.