Princess in queen's land

The all-female group of samba is crowned in London

I confess that when I fi rst heard that a group called Samba de Rainha was coming to London to play during Carnival I thought to myself: boy, yet another samba group featuring half-naked women to reinforce that age-old stereotypical view of Brasil. Not that I have anything against half-naked women at Carnival, quite on the contrary, but you have to agree that the image of mulattas dancing samba wearing little to no clothes is something of a cliché. What’s more, there’s a lot more to Brasilian Carnival than the Sambadrome.

Having said all that – and after confessing my own prejudices – I can admit that I was rather pleased to be proved wrong. I just needed to research a bit into the band’s history to realise how original they were: a samba band composed solely of women. And that’s what’s so unique about the band. The women aren’t there just as ornaments, as muses or sexual objects, they’re the main protagonists, reinventing a traditionally male-dominated art form.

Asked if they’ve ever suffered prejudice because of this, Érica, who plays the rebolo, explains: “Sometimes we do. People look at us mistrustfully, you feel there’s a bit of an atmosphere, but once we start playing people are won over by the love we have for what we do”. The group, which started off as an informal gathering, has gone on to become a serious venture.

Now it’s time for the girls to whip up a storm here in London. JD

Princess in queen's land

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