“When I started creating, I didn’t even know I was resisting. I started when I was a teenager. The family called me “black sheep”, “rebel”. But I wasn't aware that there was a whole system to hide the woman. So, I started doing it, without worrying about it. I think this is important, at the same time that we have to keep the new generations informed that they must continue fighting against this invisibility, we cannot leave children, girls, discouraged because of this. I was not discouraged due to pure ignorance”, said Alice Ruiz, this Monday (5), at the opening of the III Meeting of Song and Popular Singing Studies, at the Institute of Arts (IA) at Unicamp.
Poet and lyricist, with partnerships with Arnaldo Antunes (Socorro), Itamar Assunção (Navalha na liga), Zeca Baleiro (Almost nothing), Alzira Espíndola (Penso e passa) and Ceumar (Avesso), Alice Ruiz reflected on the song, poetry and about women's struggle. More academic, but no less an artist, the table next to her was researcher Ana Carolina Murgel, PhD in cultural history from Unicamp.
When starting her research in 2003, in an attempt to identify Brazilian lyricists and composers, Ana Carolina said that she estimated a number between 800 and 900 artists. In its final report, 7500 names appear. “I stopped there. There would certainly be many more if I had continued. But there was a deadline to deliver,” she said.
Among the discoveries he made along the way, he located the authors of well-known songs such as “Lampião de gas” by Zica Bérgami, “Fiz a cama na veranda” by Dilu Mello and “Lama” by Aylce Chaves, in partnership with Paulo Marques. “I was moved by the number of beautiful songs, which I didn't know were by women. It is important for us to know the number of women composers and lyricists and the extent of these women’s creativity,” she stated.
The place of women in Brazilian music as performers was questioned by both women. “Are women the best singers? But we are also the best composers, in many cases. We are as great composers as they are”, said Ana. “We say that there are female singers in this country. Marisa Monte, Gal Costa, Tulipa Ruiz, Karina Kuhr, Céu, are all composers. There is something in our culture, in our history, that seems to force all the media to give invisibility to any woman who produces something”, said Alice.
In the afternoon, Ná Ozzetti and Ceumar led Conversations about Song. See a snippet in the video below:
See you Friday at IA
The Meeting, organized by the artist and IA professor, Regina Machado, brings together popular song lovers from inside and outside the academy. “The coming together of researchers and artists is very special, as this is a theme that has been embraced by the University recently. Unicamp is a pioneer in establishing a degree in Popular Music. Addressing this issue is fundamental because this is a topic very dear to Brazilian culture. So the academy definitely needs to recognize this and open this space”, said Regina.
According to her, opening the Institute of Arts for the community to debate and appreciate popular music is part of the University's mission. “Academia needs to dialogue with society. So there’s nothing better than bringing artists into the gym,” she said. She also highlighted the fact that many of the Institute's teachers, like her, have careers in music. “We work with music in research, teaching and artistic achievement”, she highlighted.
The Meeting arose within the scope of the research group coordinated by Regina, Vox Mundi, which brings together students and researchers around the theme of the song. It was held for the first time in 2003. The second edition took place in 2015.
This year's program includes provocative communication sessions, panel discussions, lectures and shows. All events are free, take place at IA and, apart from the workshops that required registration, are open to the public. Check out the full schedule at link.
