Mandinga Culture
Culture
Suggested Films, Publications, and Music
Music*
*Click title to play
MAMA KALUNGA
THE INVENTION OF COLOR
Publications
Mandinga em Manhattan
by Lucia Correia Lima
Published by Fundação Gregio de Mattos, Salvador, 2016
ISBN: 978-85-67589-39-8
Tells the story of the globalization of capoeira angola through the efforts of masters, practitioners, artists, and scholars including Mestre João Grande, and Emilia Biancardi.
Cozinhando História: Receitas, Historias e Mitos de Pratos Afro-Brasileiros
By Josmara B. Fregoneze, Marlene Jesus Da Costa, and Nancy de Souza
Published by Fundação Pierre Verger, Salvador, 2015
ISBN: 9787-85-88971-14-1
Recipes, stories, and myths for preparing Afro-Brazilian dishes. Each recipe is accompanied by a story or myth about the orixa’s dish.
The War of the Saints
by Jorge Amado is, "a sensual tale set during carnaval and brings to life the conflict between sensuality and prudery."
A Dial Press Trade Paperback, New York. ISBN: 0-553-37440-0
Documentaries*
Alapini
Silvana Moura, Director
The documentary Alápini, The Ancestral Heritage of Mestre Didi Asipá describes the life of a priest Deoscoredes Maxililiano dos Santos – Mestre Didi - through the memories of his family, and members of the Ile Asipá terreiro (spiritual community) the people who lived close to him in Salvador, Bahia.
*Click titles to view film trailers
GOLD AWARD WINNER
BEST DOCUMENTARY
PHILAFILM FESTIVAL 2018
Marcio de Abreu, Director
In the confines of the outback of Bahia, every 12th of October, men and women gather to celebrate the Langa of Our Lady Aparecida. To the fervent sounds of prayers and traditional music, they dance and sing throughout the night, expressing their devotion to the Black saint, but this mystical scenario conceals sad stories. These are stories of pain and suffering. Stories of enslaved men and women, told by the Black people of the region, the way they heard from their grandparents and great-grandparents.
Eliciana Nascimento, Director
The Summer of Gods is a short film about a young girl named Lili who unites with her Afro-Brazilian religious ancestry on a summer visit with family to their ancestral village in rural Brazil. During her stay, she encounters Orishas (African spiritual forces) who help her find peace with a gift that has previously vexed her. The film is set in the Northeast of Brazil where Afro-Brazilian religious traditions remain strong. Lili's Grandma upholds Orisha traditions as an admired local priestess, but to ensure these traditions carry on after she passes, the gifted Lili is led on a mystical adventure of initiation through a nearby forest.
Neto Borges, Director
Filmed in San Luis, Salvador, Rio de Janeiro and Porto Alegre, this documentary discusses healing and health care and the impact of this living cultural legacy in Afro-Brazilian spiritual traditions.
YEMANJÁ: Wisdom from the African Heart of Brazil
Donna Roberts, Director
A documentary film about the Candomblé religion in Bahia, Brazil, a vibrant African-derived culture which evolved from the ways of enslaved Africans. Elder women leaders tell stories of Candomblé's history, social challenges and triumphs grounded in strong community, and Earth-based wisdom and practice and ecology.
Narrated by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker
João Tikhomiroff, Director
Set in the tropical forest of Bahia in the 1920s, the tale is firmly grounded in its historical time and place, when rich white landowners exploited black workers like slaves, even after the nominal abolition of slavery. Master Alipio has taught the art of Capoeira to Besouro, Dinora and Quero-Quero since they were children. He is brutally murdered on the orders of Col. Venancio, the plantation owner. The Colonel's attempt to nip rebellion in the bud has the opposite effect, and from beyond the grave, Master Alipio urges his young student Besouro to fight for his people.
Related Cultural Links
Festival Afro-Bahia "Celebration Bahia's African heritage."
"An experiential guide to Salvador, Bahia and a musical recommendation grapevine."
"Viver Brasil drives contemporary representations of Brazilian dance in the United States."