For Immediate Release: September 21, 2005
Media Contact: Roy A. Wilbur, Penn Presents at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 215.898.6706

Following the great success of its collaboration with Philadelphia’s Brazilian Chapter of the Partners of the Americas in honoring the Partners’ 40th Anniversary, Penn Presents at the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, University of Pennsylvania, is pleased to be working with Suzana Silva of Conexoes Consulting, the co-producer of Bahia Week, in co-hosting Bahia Week 2005. Scheduled for October 18 – 21, 2005, Bahia Week - A Celebration of Bahian Culture – will include an African-Brazilian Film Festival, Dr. Kenneth Dossar, curator; a photography exhibition, Lucia Correia de Lima Souza of Bahia, curator; an authentic Bahian dinner under the direction of Chef Odilon Braga Castro from FIB Centro Universitario in Salvador, Bahia; a panel discussion with Bahian dignitaries; and culminate with a performance by the spectacular Bahian entertainer Daniela Mercury. Esteemed Bahian artist, Ferjo, has created an original work of art for the Bahia Week 2005 poster.

In addition to the many events open to the public, Bahia Week will include meetings to discuss both African and Afro-Brazilian history being studied in the public schools, and cultural relations between the “sister” cities of Salvador, Bahia, and Philadelphia. Dr. Olivia Santana, Secretary of Education and Culture for Salvador, plans to meet with Paul Vallas, CEO of The School District of Philadelphia, Ellen Savitz, a consultant for the High School for Creative and Performing Arts/Bahian Initiative, and Dr. Nancy Morgan of Bridges International; and the Mayor of Salvador has authorized Leonel Leal Neto, the Secretary of International Affairs for Salvador, to represent him in Philadelphia in meeting with business and city officials to revisit bilateral relations.

The Annenberg Center at 3680 Walnut Street will host the North American premiere of three documentary films by Brazilian producer/director Lazaro Faria in its Studio Theatre. A resident of Salvador, Bahia, Faria is an film maker/anthropologist who uses his video camera to teach about his beloved country. An expert storyteller with an artist’s eye and sensibility to color and detail, his most recent award-winning productions focus on two very important African-Brazilian subjects – Candomblé and Capoeira. Two of the festival entries – Cidade das Mulheres (The City of Women) and Orixas da Bahia – focus on Candomblé, the practice of Yoruba based spiritual traditions in Salvador. The third production – Mandinga em Manhatten, written by journalist/photographer Lucia Correia de Lima Souza – focuses on the African-Brazilian martial art Capoeira Angola. All films are in Portuguese with English subtitles. Cidade das Mulheres and Orixas da Bahia will be shown on a double-bill on Tuesday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m. Mandinga em Manhatten will be shown on Wednesday, October 20 at 7:00 p.m. Admission to the films is $7.00 at the door. A complete description of the films, provided by Dr. Kenneth Dossar from Temple University, is available later in this press release.

On Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m., a Brazilian Band Jam will be held at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts at Broad and Christian Streets. The Brazilian Band Jam will feature a variety of area Brazilian and jazz artists, including Minas, Alo Brazil, Arpeggio Jazz, Warren Ore, Barbara Walker and others. Admission for this event is $5.00 at the door.

“Mundo Negro Ilê Aiyê,” a “picture-study” of the great Afro Bloco including 40 works by renowned Brazilian photographers, will be on display in the Annenberg Center lobby from October 18 – 21. Lucia Correai Lima de Souza, winner of an award from the Ministry of Culture for her work on Mandinga em Manhatten, is the curator for “Mundo Negro Ilê Aiyê.”

On October 21 this exciting week of Bahian culture will come to a close with a full evening of events at the Annenberg Center, ending with a performance by the dynamic Daniela Mercury in the Zellerbach Theatre. A 6:00 p.m. an authentic Bahian buffet dinner prepared by students from Drexel University’s Culinary Arts Program under the direction of Chef Odilon Braga Castro from FIB (Faculdades Integrades da Bahia) Centro Universitario, Nelson Cerqueira, Dean, will be served in the lobby of the Annenberg Center. During dinner, patrons will be serenaded by the Brazilian music of Philadelphia’s own Coco Loco.

At 6:45 p.m., opening remarks will be followed by a panel with Dr. Olivia Santana, Leonel Leal Neto and others focusing on Bahia and the cultural exchange between Salvador and Philadelphia. The evening concludes with the performance by Daniela Mercury, a singer who makes “the song-and-dance troupers of MTV look like slackers…barely a pause for breath; she hit every note while she pumped her arms, strutted and kicked.” The New York Times Tickets for Daniela Mercury’s concert, ranging from $22 - $46, and $15 dinner/lecture tickets (not including the concert), are available at 215-898-3900 or PennPresents.org. Daniela Mercury’s concert is co-sponsored by Penn’s La Casa Latina, as part of Latino Heritage Month.

AFRICAN-BRAZILIAN FILM FESTIVAL

A CIDADE DAS MULHERES
The documentary Cidade das Mulheres (The City of Women) is an absolute joy to watch. This documentary, directed by Lazaro Faria, presents an intimate view of Mae Stella de Oxossi who is perhaps the most influential figure in African religious traditions in Bahia. She is the head priestess from Axé Opó Afonjá founded in 1910, and which is one of the most important "terreiros" or African-Brazilian spiritual communities in Salvador, Bahia. In a gentle, yet self-assured manner Mae Stella, who has always been ahead of her time, explains from a feminine perspective the history of Candomblé in Bahia, and the matriarchal system of power created and controlled by the women who practice these traditions. Mae Stella also reveals details from her own life story and how she was called to her position. A tribute the many notable women who appear in the film, "Cidade das Mulheres" also pays tribute to Ruth Landes, the North-American anthropologist, who in the during the late nineteen-thirties, came to Bahia to perform research and was surprised by the spiritual, cultural and economic power held by women in Candomblé. She published her findings – The City of Women in 1947. Her intimate thoughts and impressions are illustrated in this sensitive documentary by images of popular festivities which celebrate African spiritual traditions, and the stunning natural beauty of the city of Salvador.

ORIXAS DA BAHIA
Orixas da Bahia is a documentary by Lazaro Faria that, through short dance and music vignettes and animation segments, captures the essential characteristics of the major spiritual forces that form the pantheon of Yoruba religious traditions in Bahia. Called Orixas, these nature based entities spiritually guide the lives of the faithful. Each orixa with its individual color coded beading and costuming represents an aspect or force of nature, and is reverenced on a specific week day, with special offering, and songs. Faria’s film explores the continuation of the elaborate system of belief in West African goddesses and gods that was transferred to Brazil during the more than 300 years of enslavement. In vivid colors and entrancing rhythms Orixas da Bahia transports the viewer to the natural richness and spiritual energy of Bahia.

MANDINGA EM MANHATTEN
Lazaro Faria’s most recent documentary Mandinga em Manhattan tells the story of the internationalization of the African Brazilian martial art – Capoeira Angola. The film’s title refers to the “mandinga” or magical quality shown by masters when they perform this art form. Written by journalist/photographer Lucia Correai Lima de Souza, Mandinga em Manhattan highlights one of the grand masters of Capoeira Angola Joao Oliveira dos Santos, who after many years of absence from instructing students, began teaching again and relocated from Salvador to Manhattan in 1990. Once demonized and outlawed by the Brazilian government, capoeira today is being recognized by Brazil as one of its most important cultural treasures. Through interviews with scholars and capoeira practitioners the history of Capoeira is placed into its proper context.

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