Soul Brasil Magazine Issue 122

Community/Comunidade (3)
the orixas, and samba of the Black Blocos, add
Aninha Malandro.
She explains that ultimately, it is about
dispelling the stereotypes of feathers,
bikinis and glitter to embrace, advance and
bring awareness to the richness, heritage
and ancestrality of AfroBrazilian culture.
The Journey to Recognition
for Years of Helping to
Spread Samba in the USA
Rio Carnaval 2024, the year where
past, future and present collided
to bring together a wonderful
homage to Aninha Malandro, the CEO
of the Los Angeles-based International
Samba Congress (ISC). Aninha was not
only chosen as the Princess of the Senior
Court of the Rio Carnaval, but also the
honouree of the fifth Passista Ball, an
annual event of great significance for the
samba community in Rio organized by “O
Globo” personality Milton Cunha.
2024 is, for all intent and purposes,
the year of Aninha Malandro. What
was the journey that led Aninha to this
very special honour? She explains in
her own words:
“I was born into a family of sambistas, who
loved and breathed the samba culture.
My parents were passistas of the iconic
Mangueira samba school, and they taught
me how to dance and sing samba since I was
a child. They also taught me the history and
values of samba, such as community, joy,
resilience, and solidarity.
However, as she grew up, she started to reject
samba. Aninha wanted to fit in with her peers,
who listened to other music genres and
looked down on samba. “I felt ashamed of
my Afro-Brazilian roots, of my culture, and
of my parents. I stopped going to the samba
school, to the rehearsals, and to the Carnaval.
I distanced myself from my family and from
the samba community”, she said.
When she was 24, she left Brazil and moved
to the United States, where she pursued a
career in Psychology. Aninha thought she had
left samba behind, but she soon realized that
samba was still in her heart. Aninha missed the
rhythm, the melody, and the lyrics of samba.
She missed the energy, the emotion, and the
connection of samba, and she missed her
family, friends, and her identity.
That’s when Aninha met Pilar Leto, a dancer,
choreographer, and producer who had
performed and taught Brazilian, Caribbean,
and Afro-Cuban. She was the one who
encouraged her to teach samba, to share her
passion and my culture with others.
Aninha decided to reencounter samba
as a way of healing and reconnecting with
herself. “My doctoral dissertation focused
on the healing power of samba, and the ISC,
happening every year since 2017, became a
testament to this power. Furthermore, the ISC
has a mission to showcase the wide variety
of Afro-Brazilian dances, exposing students
from Los Angeles and across North America
to not only samba no pe but also frevo, samba
de gafieira, samba de malandro, symbology of
Aninha also decided to use her skills
and her platform as a psychologist in
the United States to promote and defend
samba, especially the cause of the
passistas movement.
“I realized that the passistas are the essence
and the soul of samba, but they are often
marginalized and exploited by the media,
the society, and the Carnaval industry. I
wanted to change that, by giving voice and
visibility to the passistas, by telling their
stories, by celebrating their art, and by
fighting for their rights”, comments Aninha.
She is honored and grateful to be
recognized and celebrated in Rio de
Janeiro by the passistas, and commit to
continuing the mission of advancing this
art form and supporting the passistas to
be recognized as the professional artists
they are. As the Mangueira samba enredo
says: “sambando, tocando e cantando se
encontram passado, future e presente”.
Aninha Malandro: Princess of the Senior
Court of Rio’s Carnaval 2024
30 Soul Brasil Magazine © • Issue 122 • Mar 15 / Apr 2024 • Year 21 • www.soulbrasil.com