FIRE IN A CAGE
It’s been almost 16 years since the last time I photographed someone’s event, but a few days ago an opportunity presented itself to me. Most fine art photographers, at least the ones that I know, would write the request off simply because they feel its beneath them. The genre, after all, doesn’t afford them the ability to be artistic and creative. The thud, thud, thud of a few Kenwood speakers frantically directing the movement of hundreds of drunken and sweaty men and women in a crowd is not necessarily my cup of tea either. Fogo na Gauilo however, is far from that, a much different experience. It’s also for a different and better cause.
Fogo na Gauilo is a collective of German-Brazilian culture promoters, all of which I find very interesting. Some of its members represent a solution of the two cultures, where one father, mother, or grandparent is European and the other Brazilian. Others have been mixed in, having immigrated at some point to Germany. They all are brought together by a shared language, taste in food, interest in Brazilian music and dance, and most of all, the passion to create a microcosm of Brazil in Frankfurt where it otherwise doesn’t exist. They pool their own resources to accomplish that end no matter if all they do is break even financially at the end of the event. What’s most important to them, is that the community within a community is manifested.
This event was done under the sun on a partly cloudy and rainy day. DJ Crell was on the “ones and two’s” spinning the best of Brazilian funk, pop, and reggaeton. From the corner of my eye, I see a small child, maybe two years old and her Brazilian mother enjoying the music from her homeland. She speaks to her child in Portuguese and so do the other women who come by to admire the child. The child at two years old can mumble more Portuguese than I can speak. I wonder how much, if any, Brazilian cultural exposure the child receives from the German “Kindergrippe”. Maybe the child will never get the opportunity to visit Brazil, her mother’s home country. Therefore, the Fogo na Gauilo events are important. The fact that you are encouraged to bring your Brazilian children, or any children for that matter, shows you what these events are about, immersion into the culture.
I begin stuffing my face with a meat filled fried mashed potato (Papas Rellenas) just as I hear a group of Brazilian guys cheering and holding Brazilian flags high. Brazil has just taken the gold medal in soccer at the Olympics. Indeed, something to cheer for. Both women and men are drinking laughing and dancing, not unlike at any other outdoor party in the world. The cultural dance consists of mostly what we Americans call, “the Twerk”, and women are encouraged to wear blue jean shorts, what we in America refer to as “Daisy Dukes”. You would be forgiven for calling it hedonistic. They have only been doing this dance since 1822, so, much shorter than Europeans have been kissing under the mistletoe. Please forgive my sarcasm. Indeed, it’s not hedonistic, its wholesome.
I would like to thank Fogo na Gauilo for extending me this opportunity to photograph their event. Should you ever be interested in attending one of their events or contacting them for whatever reason, please visit them on Instagram or Facebook at @fogonagaiola in Frankfurt… You won’t regret it.
