Margaret Menezes is invited to take charge of the Ministry of Culture

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Margaret Menezes was invited to take over the Ministry of Culture in the government of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party). The singer’s press office confirmed the invitation, but said the singer had not yet decided whether or not she would accept.

In his first term as president (2003-2010), Lula Gilberto Gil and Juca Ferreira were in the region.

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During Jair Bolsonaro’s reign, the ministry was extinguished and he became a private secretary for culture, occupied by names such as Roberto Alvim, Regina Duarte, Mario Frias, Hélio Ferraz and André Porciuncola. With the new president, the portfolio will resume ministry status.

Margaret Menezes has already made public statements in support of the president-elect. In a live broadcast during the election campaign, in September, she announced her support in the first round:

“I think we need to give this vote of confidence so that Brazil can breathe, get stronger and recover.”

The support comes from a long time ago: in 2011, the year after PT’s second term, he posted on Twitter: “I wish the strength and faith of beloved Lola. For us Brazilians, he is an example of significant achievement and has made a difference in people’s lives.”

In another tweet, he said, “I know what the poor of this country ate before and after Lula.”

Cultural Factories Association

Margaret Menezes is the founder and president of the Associação Fábrica Cultural, a private non-profit entity in Bahia, more specifically in the Península do Itapagipe region, in El Salvador, where she was born.

Formally established on March 29, 2004, it began functioning about four years later, in perhaps one of its closest experiences of being Minister of Culture.

Among the Foundation’s projects, vocational rehabilitation procedures for young people in areas such as sewing, graphic design, stamping, handicrafts with semi-precious stones, art, education, language and literature, children’s workshops, digital inclusion and a discussion forum to “strengthen family ties” of the local community.

The organization claims to operate on the basis of seven Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN): eradicate poverty; quality education; gender equality; decent work and economic growth; reduce inequality; sustainable cities and communities; Responsible production and consumption.

ethnic issues

Regarding the peculiarities of Brazilian culture, he said in an interview with Porchat (Record TV) in 2018: “It’s been several generations now where people assume more of a (blackness), really, way of being. Run to the people, what are you going to do? Everything is mixed up. We, Brazil, this beauty, each person contributing in their own way, their culture, their mixture. I think it’s very cool. Brazil is a different country because of that. When we started to imagine how many people came here, from Africa and from other countries in Europe and other places , and this thing was expressing and joining in behaviour, culture, food and everything, a place different from any other. People start to understand what this wealth is, it’s really amazing.”

“This polarity has to be accepted. Not because I live in a place where the majority is black I would think the whole of Brazil is black. Not because you live in a place where the majority is white you would think [que o Brasil todo é branco]🇧🇷 Not. Brazil is like that. And where you live there are also black people, and there are Indian descendants, white people. This is our history and we are not ashamed of it. This complicates a lot even for us to evolve.”

youths

Born Margareth Menezes da Purificação on October 13, 1962, the daughter of a pastry chef and a chauffeur, she is the eldest of six children. His musical passion stemmed from his parents, who listened to artists such as Jackson do Pandeiro, Orlando Silva, Nelson Gonçalves, Angela Maria, Luiz Gonzaga, Decro, Martinho da Villa, Clara Nunes, Nuet Elostrada, Marines y Soa Gente and Moreira da Silva. He was also part of the Boa Viagem Choir in childhood.

He got his first guitar as a teenager, at the time attending theater groups performing plays such as To be or not to be human (1980), masks (1982) and the general inspector (1982). In 1983, he participated in the Gran Circo Troca de Segredos, a cultural space inspired by Circo Voador, in Rio de Janeiro. Crazy little boyInspired by Ziraldo’s work, he created the soundtrack, played the audio and managed the show’s vocal technology. He defended it years later: “Within this matter of theatre, I saw it with a realization of my own artistic potential.”

success in music

In 1986 he took the first steps in his musical career, performing in cities in the interior of Bahia, as well as in the Teatro Castro Alves, through the Pixinguinha project. your first show, Light bathHe won the Alcaimi Award for Best Interpreter. In 1987, he recorded Farao – Defendad do Egypt, considered the first samba reggae song released, along with Jalma Oliveira. Then she was hired by PolyGram and released her first album, Margaret Menezesin November 1988. In it, he came to attention with a version of Ray Zulu’s Withhamar Tropicalia, Uma Historia de Eva (Eligippo).

The song also opened egibot (1990), an album produced by David Byrne (Talking Heads) and released overseas only. The partnership with the Scottish musician helped boost his international career, and the album reached number one on the Billboard World Albums chart thanks to good sales in the US. At that time, the singer also drew attention due to a series of performances alongside Gilberto Gil and Dominguinhos.

When Byrne released his album King Momo (1989), toured dozens of countries and invited Margaret Menezes to open shows. In May 1990, when they were in Brazil, it was Estadao He defined the singer as having “irresistible swing and an above-average voice among new singers trying their luck at MPB”.

your album kendala (1991) also had major international repercussions. In the early 2000s he had success with Dandalunda, a song by Carlinhos Brown that was considered the “Carnival Song of 2003” in Salvador. Among other releases and performances, Margareth Menezes continued to appear frequently on radio and television in Brazil over the following decades.

It was nominated for a 1993 Grammy Award in the category of Best World Instrumental Album in 1993 and 2007, as well as Latin Grammy nominations in 2006 (Best Brazilian Pop Album) and 2020 (Best Portuguese-Language Roots Album).

In 2019, it was launched A native, his latest album, but his tour plans have been halted due to the covid-19 pandemic. During this period, he worked on the series Grandma’s house, from Wolo TV, which was also shown on TVE and other channels. On November 26, 2022, he premiered his new show, Liftsperforming at the Afropunk Festival Bahia.