Feminist musician and LGBTQ activist, Bïa Ferreira invented her own label within Brazilian music. She is performing in Montreal for the first time this Thursday, at Balattou, alone with her voice, her guitar and a lively rhythm machine.
Brazilian music is a teeming jungle of varied styles designated by terms, some of which are known as bossa nova, samba, samba funk, forro or even the acronym MPB, for “musica popular brasileira”. Bïa Ferreira combines many things in her protest songs, but claims a single label: MPP, for “musica de mulher preta”, that is to say black women’s music.
Her first two records in fact talk about what it is like to be a black woman, a lesbian, in a country that is certainly mixed, but fairly conservative. Bïa Ferreira, who lives with a woman, says violence against queer people is commonplace in his country and saw a resurgence under the leadership of Jair Bolsonaro, a populist politician some call the “Brazilian Trump.” “.
His own trajectory is marked by this homophobia. Bïa Ferreira was born into a Christian family of a father who was a pastor and a mother who was a choir director “who plays the piano very well”. His musical education therefore began very early: piano and choir at the age of 3. “My favorite part was playing an instrument and singing at the same time,” she recalls.
I was a slightly hyperactive child, I loved learning. Which means that today, I play 24 instruments. I don’t play these 24 instruments very well, but a little of this, a little of that.
Bïa Ferreira
However, at the age of 13, she experienced a break with her family. “I had a big conversation with my mother, I told her that I thought I liked girls, not boys,” says Bïa Ferreira. She lost her temper and beat me. »
She remained in this house where she was no longer welcome until she was 16 years old. Then she left for college and never came back. “My brothers and sisters are great,” she says. They support me and are proud of me, but my parents are still Christians and they support Bolsonaro. I represent everything they oppose…”
From words to actions
Bïa Ferreira began her career as a musician by traveling her country, developing her rebellious style. Her identity as a black lesbian woman is at the heart of her creation. His songs – sometimes spoken word – speak of poverty, exclusion, racism, sexism and revolt. The tone is firm and the outlook is focused on reality, without fluff.
The 30-year-old artist does not throw words into the air. What she denounces in her songs which draw in particular on jazz, funk, Brazilian rhythms, reggae and rap, she tries to change. Whether for her music or her videos, she surrounds herself with women – black women, as much as possible. Criticizing is good, acting is better in his eyes.
This state of mind also matches that of the album which she will undoubtedly publish in the middle of the summer. “I’m trying to find new ways of making art,” she explains, referring to a record made of Brazilian rhythms and rap, with a more positive message.
Extract of Bençao de Prosperidade
Rather than talking about racism and homophobia, she wants to celebrate who she is and those who look like her. “I want to say: it’s good to be what we are. We don’t need to suffer, to only talk about negative things, on this side of history. »
I want to say how loved and strong I feel with my group of women, with my peers. My activism is to exist.
Bïa Ferreira
Bïa Ferreira believes that it is by sharing her experience and that of her family that she can contribute to a better understanding of her history and that of the communities with which she identifies. Which poses a challenge, of course, when she performs in countries where her language, Portuguese, is not that of the majority.
“I’m looking for ways to make what I do better understood outside of Brazil,” says the musician, who will perform solo at Balattou. I think the style is very important on my new album, because I have to make sure I convey the point, the strength of what I’m singing. »
In concert this Thursday, 9 p.m., at Balattou
Visit the event page