The Maracatu groups of baque virado in the city of Manaus – AM

Abstract

The phenomenon of maracatu in Manaus, a cultural manifestation unfamiliar to the Amazon reality, begins to present records from 2009 with the formation of the group Eco da Sapopema. If in 2006 there was no record of maracatu in Manaus, today there is evidence of the formation of six groups. One of the objectives of this research was to analyze the presence of the maracatu in Manaus and identify them based on field observation. The maracatus maintain ties to the Afro-Brazilian culture and define which territories are of interest to each group, through locations and motivating facts for the practices of rehearsals and presentations. The methodological practice was carried out between the years 2010 and 2023, consisting of participant observation more systematized between the years 2018 and 2019 and grounded in fieldwork and monitoring of profiles on social networks to describe their performances. The guiding question was to know which spaces of the city these maracatu groups usually appropriate in the capital of Amazonas. The identification of how the urban space is being occupied by the practice of maracatus amidst certain neighborhoods of the city was revealing of the expression of Pernambuco black culture in Amazonian lands.