The construction of Baile Charme do Viaduto de Madureira as a historical and symbolic quilombo

Abstract

In this article, as we characterize and oppose the colonial burden that perpetuates the inferiorization of the Afro-diasporic population, we aim to analyze the discursive construction of Baile Charme do Viaduto de Madureira as a historical and symbolic quilombo (Nascimento, 2018). This analysis is based on the narrative of Michell, resident DJ and managing partner, as reported in a podcast interview. Furthermore, we propose to analyze how the transmission of knowledge in the Charme movement is constructed in the memories narrated by Michell, from his youth until becoming the resident DJ of Baile Charme do Viaduto de Madureira (RJ). Our theoretical and practical understandings are articulated based on anti-racist and libertarian concepts, namely: quilombo and document-body (Nascimento, 2018; Nascimento; Gerber, 1989), memory environments (Martins, 2003; 2021), and life politics (Rufino; Simas, 2020; Rufino, 2021). The study is situated within a qualitative-interpretative methodological perspective, of an interdisciplinary, subjective, and situated nature (Denzin; Lincoln, 2006). Analysis of the interview excerpts suggests that Michell's trajectory is constructed in constant reference to the ancestral knowledge of charme, created from affective, familial, and community repertoires. Through collective practices and bodily performances, Baile Charme is constructed as a space of belonging, care, and resistance, where Afro-diasporic knowledge is shared and (re)constructed. Given the physical and symbolic violence and promoted by hegemonic narratives, we understand that the Charme movement updates quilombola practices in the experiences of/at Baile Charme do Viaduto de Madureira, functioning as a living and collective archive of Black memories and cultures.