from Brazil's Northeast, highlighting the less regarded feminine
influences of the outback's popular culture.
Born in Sao Paulo, the composer and musician has gathered a vast array
of rhythmical, poetical structures, canons and voice dialogues from
the grassroot music of the Northeast. Her songs are inspired by
the Maracatu Rural, the Coco and the Cavalo Marinho, amongst others,
and reveal the richness of these traditions, exposing an authentic
repertoire made up of her own compositions, young and old composers
as well as songs that are now in the public domain.
Listening to Renata Rosa is a groundbreaking trip into the timeless
world of the Caboclos, the Native Indians and the Africans of Brazil.
Renata Rosa's performance intertwines the best of the Northeast music
with its dances. The power within the chant is a physical consequence
of the dance, and in some songs the stage ground actually becomes
a percussion instrument, as it is stomped by the artists. Renata plays
the "rabeca" (the traditional brazilian fiddle), alongside her
musicians, Seu Luis Paixao, a native master of this traditional fiddle,
a "viola" (a rare kind of acoustic guitar), 2 percussionists and
a bass guitar.
Renata has just released an outstanding debut album "Zunido da Mata",
produced by Mestre Ambrosio's musicians. After touring and teaching
her art in Italy, USA and Canada, Renata Rosa and band is now ready
to hit international roads, opening new horizons for Brazilian music.
Ms Rosa will teach the Samba de Coco, which is a variation of the Coco.
The origin of Coco lays on the meeting between the native Brazilian
culture and the central African culture, which came with the slaves to
the Northeast of Brazil and involves the circular dance that sights
the ground. The dance has a variety of steps, which the function is
the percussion and are connect to the poetry. Traditionally, the dance
is connected to the construction of houses made by clay and straw. The
owner of the house calls the people of the community to do the Coco
inside the house on the clay floor. While everyone is dancing, singing
and making percussion sounds with their feet, the clay is flattened to
ground level. Renata's workshop will work with the circular dance and
the relationship between the dance, the feet percussion and the poetic
aspects of the music.
Renata Rosa, musician, singer, poet and researcher, was born in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1973. She is part of the "Maracatu de Baque
Solto Estrela de Ouro de Aliança", as Dama do Cacho, one of the
responsibles for the evolution of the maracatu - a traditional carnival
parade from the State of Pernambuco (NE), in which dance, improvised
poetry and music are included. "Maracatu" aggregates elements from
black, indigenous and iberic culture. She also conducts the Boi
da Gurita Seca group, in which she improvises poetry following
the musical and poetic tradition of the "maracatu rural".
She develops research on cultural manifestations of the people from
northeast. Some of her studies are focused on "coco", work chants
and traditional catholic chants such as "Benditos" - which are
performed during the traditional catholic parades - and "excelencia
chants" - chants to prepare the deads' soul to the encounter with
God, usually performed during death-watches.
Renata Rosa has been providing workshops in many Festivals and
Centers: Cleveland Museum of Art (Ohio) , Cathedral St John
the Divine (NY), Festival de Inverno de Garanhuns, (PE), Teatro
Arraial (Recife) , Studio Casa de Pedra (Rio de Janeiro),etc.
Lança de caboclo
Renata Rosa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O caboclo da mata.
Na trilha do vento
Na noite escura.
No norte do tempo,
Fazendo firula.
No dia e na noite
Dançando pra Lua
Pela tradição
dos seus ancestrais
O toque da mão
Faz a Guerra a e Paz
O Fogo ilumina a poeira do chão
Faísca clareia os olhos do ar
Caboclo segura a lança na mão
E a alma ele lança pra se encontrar
Pela tradição
dos seus ancestrais
O toque da mão
Faz a Guerra a e Paz
The song "Lança de Caboclo" by Renata Rosa sheds light on the culture and traditions of the indigenous people of Brazil. The lyric speaks of a "caboclo" of the forest who dances in the day and at night under the moonlight. He holds a lance and throws his soul to find himself. The song also mentions the tradition of passing on the legacy of the ancestors through the touch of hands, which brings about both war and peace.
The first stanza of the song creates an immediate sense of mystery and intrigue with its reference to a "caboclo" of the forest who is then contrasted by the dark, night-time setting. This is indicative of the strong relationship between the indigenous people of Brazil and their natural surroundings. The "caboclo" is then described as a dancer, emphasizing the role of dance in indigenous culture as a way of connecting with the spiritual realm. The second stanza not only speaks to the indigenous people's connection with their ancestors but also their traditional practices of resolving conflicts. This can be inferred from the line "Faz a Guerra e Paz," where "Guerra" means war and "Paz" means peace. Traditionally, the "caboclos" would resolve conflicts through warfare, but peace would also be made through the same process.
Line by Line Meaning
No mato um caboclo,
O caboclo da mata.
In the forest, there's a caboclo, a man of the woods.
Na trilha do vento
Na noite escura.
He walks along the wind in the dark night.
No norte do tempo,
Fazendo firula.
He wanders far north, lost in thought.
No dia e na noite
Dançando pra Lua.
He dances for the moon, day and night.
Pela tradição
dos seus ancestrais
O toque da mão
Faz a Guerra a e Paz
According to the tradition of his ancestors, the touch of a hand can bring both war and peace.
O Fogo ilumina a poeira do chão
Faísca clareia os olhos do ar
Caboclo segura a lança na mão
E a alma ele lança pra se encontrar
As the fire illuminates the dusty ground and sparks light up the sky, the caboclo holds his spear and releases his soul to find itself.
Pela tradição
dos seus ancestrais
O toque da mão
Faz a Guerra a e Paz
Again, the tradition of his ancestors teaches that a simple touch can bring either war or peace.
Contributed by David Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.