A long-distance embrace between women gathered around the world in the name of music, art, and solidarity. It's a magical and special connection that is celebrated once a year with "Mulheres na Roda de Samba," an initiative that began some time ago in Rio de Janeiro and has since spread to other cities.
The appointment
This unique event will also be held in Cagliari on Saturday, September 26, from 8 pm at Exma', with free admission, simultaneously with 32 other venues in Europe and South America, with the same notes, the same rhythms, and the same love for Brazilian culture.
Carol Mello, a composer and multi-instrumentalist born in São Paulo and living in Sardinia, who has coordinated the project here since 2025, explains: "It all stems from the desire to create a female-only musical space, a 'roda de samba' composed exclusively of women, and there's a specific reason behind this choice: to peacefully 'invade' with percussion, bodies, and voices, many spaces that continue to have a predominantly male presence."
The “circle”
So, what is “una roda de samba”?
It's a collective, convivial, and participatory musical gathering, where samba is played, sung, and shared, all together. The musicians often sit around a table, with no clear separation from the audience: they play, sing, clap, dance, and the music flows, allowing for some improvisation. It's an open and inclusive environment, where even first-time participants can join in and become an active part of it.
The group is growing in Cagliari, and you don't need to be a musician or have any previous experience. The idea is to give more and more women the opportunity to explore percussion—the pandeiro, the tamborim, and the reco-reco—to learn how to play and find their place in the "circle."
And – the coordinator specifies – if on the one hand we are promoting and spreading an important piece of Brazilian culture here, on the other we are proposing an exchange of different knowledge and heritages, which mix and give birth to new sisterhoods.
The tools
Among other things, the program is enriched by Carol Mello's professional relationship with Contemporânea, a historic Brazilian brand of percussion instruments. Thanks to this collaboration, the São Paulo-based company has provided the Cagliari-based group with a set of instruments for rehearsals, allowing the participants to gain a concrete understanding of the samba repertoire and the beauty of the instruments that bring it to life.
Each year, the event pays tribute to two women who have left a significant mark. For the ninth edition, the chosen women are Zezé Motta, a renowned actress, singer, and voice actress in her homeland, and Rio de Janeiro native Jovelina Pérola Negra, a singer and songwriter known for her deep voice and representative of the partido alto style, which blends improvisation, poetry, and groove.
(Unioneonline)
