Afropunk Bahia 2022: the biggest black culture festival in the world

The Parque de Exposições, in Salvador, will be the stage for Afropunk Bahia, considered the biggest festival of black culture in the world. This year’s line-up features attractions such as Emicida, Baco Exu do Blues, Black Pantera, Margareth Menezes, Ludmilla, Liniker, Mart’nália and others.

For the organizers of the event, this second edition has a ‘first-time taste’, as it will be 100% face-to-face in the blackest city outside Africa, the capital of Bahia, Salvador.

“The expectation is very high. We are holding a festival with this characteristic and this size in Salvador. It is something rare and unique. Afropunk embraces artists from different parts of Brazil and the world, but also entrepreneurial professionals who have never accessed the market that way. We are very happy to be seeing for the first time a project that stars the black population”, says Raína Biriba, production coordinator of the festival.

Before becoming a festival, Afropunk emerged as a cultural movement, which aimed to be resistance within a punk rock community dominated by white people. The release of the documentary Afro-Punk (2003), directed by James Spooner, kickstarted the movement. The audiovisual production tells the story of four African-Americans who lived the ‘punk rock lifestyle’ in the early 2000s. In 2005, Afropunk gained the format of an international and multiart festival in Brooklyn, New York.

For Ismael Fagundes, artistic coordinator of Afropunk Bahia, the event marks a crucial moment for the fight against racism in Brazil. “Choosing Salvador to be the headquarters of Afropunk, in Latin America, directly already contributes. The place, the mostly black population and the artists who will perform. Thinking a lot about Rap today, which is our ‘new rock’ that puts the ‘finger on the wound’, which brings a direct speech of what we want, where we want to be, where we want to reach. It’s totally organic. Salvador needed to have a festival like this,” he says.

Line-up winners

Ludmilla and Liniker, Latin Grammy 2022 winners, will perform at Afropunk Bahia. Liniker, singer and songwriter, made history and became the first Brazilian trans woman to win the award, with the work “Indigo Borboleta Anil”, in the category “Best Brazilian Popular Music Album”. Ludmilla won in the category of “Best Samba/Pagode Album”, with “Numanice 2”.

For Raína Biriba, production coordinator, having them at Afropunk Bahia is important, as it brings them and the event a place of belonging and representation. “The festival carries black activism. So, it is very important to have them in this leading role”, she says.

Accessibility, diversity and inclusion

Thinking about accessibility and inclusion, Ismael Fagundes, artistic coordinator of Afropunk Bahia, says that he was concerned about several aspects, including the ticket discount for transgender people and people with disabilities – PCDs. “We have some actions in relation to this. At the event, for those who go in person, we have a welcoming service. People in need can find our ‘Can I help?’ team. In addition, the festival will have interpretation in pounds, which will be broadcast on a large screen between the two stages. In the online broadcast there will also be an audio description link”, he concludes.

Afropunk takes place between the 26th and 27th of November. The festival will be broadcast on the channel YouTube and Facebookin addition to the exclusive portal Planet Afropunk.