Dispatch from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul, bordering Argentina and Uruguay, is home to music that – on first listen – has little to do with other sounds we call ‘Brazilian.’ Part of an important cultural macro-region encompassing areas of Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, Rio Grande do Sul is home to gaúcho culture and its music, which is full of Argentinian-influenced rhythms such as milonga and chamamé.

The state was in the news this year when unprecedented flooding hit at the end of April, with more than 420,000 people forced to flee their homes, and 478 of the state’s 497 municipalities being affected by the overflow. At least 173 deaths have been reported at the time of writing. Countless people lost their houses, livestock, workplaces; reparations are still in progress and will be for some time. Musically speaking, an inordinate number of instruments, studios and music venues were damaged or lost, not to mention the number of concerts that were cancelled because of closed roads and airports – all of this directly affecting the livelihoods of local musicians.

The public reaction to the flooding in Brazil and abroad was one of great solidarity. The floods resulted in the initiation of various projects designed to help the musical community. For example, RS Música Urgente, a community-led movement of artists aiming to support music and culture during the emergency, had signatures from more than 1,000 musicians in just a few weeks. Help also arrived from afar. Here where I live, in São Paulo, three states north of Rio Grande do Sul, there were many collections of food and clothing, with posters encouraging monetary donations visible across the city.

In the international music scene, the gaúcho (and wider Brazilian) diaspora came together to organise benefit concerts and donation drives. Nani Medeiros, a singer from Rio Grande do Sul, spoke about the reaction in Lisbon, her home for the past five years where she sings samba and Portuguese fado among other styles: “During the flooding, I saw many gaúchos who have family in Rio Grande do Sul be extremely affected by the events, not knowing when it would get better, when people would be able to get back to normal life, how much they had lost. It was a period of a lot of worry and anguish. I could hardly work, I couldn’t stop watching the news.” Nani collected donations in Euros (a stronger currency than the Brazilian Real) and sent them to people working on the front line so that the funds could help buy medicine and basic necessities. She continues: “There are many Brazilians living in Lisbon, I saw an amazing effort to collect clothes, water, etc, which were sent on an airplane to Porto Alegre [the capital of Rio Grande do Sul].”

Gabriel Selvage, a seven-string guitarist and singer from Rio Grande do Sul whose repertoire focuses on música gaúcha, was on the front line of the search-and-rescue effort, which included volunteers from across Brazil. He says: “Each volunteer who arrived offered their skills, there were vets, doctors, people serving food and driving the boats. There were days where I was putting together kennels for dogs, days where I went out on the water to search for people and animals. We saw countless people who had lost absolutely everything, many of whom were out volunteering themselves, thinking only of how to help others. It was a very moving experience.”

The cultural and musical differences from the rest of Brazil mean that the folkloric music market of Rio Grande do Sul is rather isolated. Selvage says, “It is both a positive and negative aspect that the folkloric music scene here is self-sustaining. Normally, musicians work in Paraná and below [the south region of the country has three states: Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná]. This audience alone sustains música gaúcha. The musicians live and work circling this region, so when a catastrophe like this happens and the roads are closed, the folkloric musicians suffer hugely, much more than musicians who play other styles and work in other parts of the country.”

Donation channels are still open to help with the recovery of Rio Grande do Sul from this unprecedented natural disaster. As says Nani Medeiros: “It’s important we keep talking about what’s happened, keep helping and stay in solidarity with the gaúcho people until this situation stabilises.”

International donations to assist flood victims can be made at sosenchentes.rs.gov.br

This article originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Songlines. Never miss an issue, read the magazine online – subscribe today: magsubscriptions.com