Rio Funk Ball

“Since 2005, I’ve been in the thick of the action among Rio’s funkeiros, registering these ghetto parties, with all their sublimated desire. My Funk archive is a portrait of Rio’s youth scene in the early decades of the 21st century. The songs lay bare all the war, betrayal, sex, love, and myriad other transgressions... Unlike rap, the favela party is a place of discipline, respect for the other, moments of reclaimed dignity, of pride, a collective choreographic creation. The favela Funk Ball is about a politically and economically oppressed people exercizing their right to free speech in the most absolute and explicit terms. On the contrary, at the clubs down on the “tarmac,” the lyrics might be censored or softened, but the behavior is more permissive... Disdained by the elite, the Funk Balls are the main social gatherings in the shantytowns, drawing hundreds of kids from all over the city. For many funkeiros, the Balls are not just fun, but a vital necessity, a cultural right. The call of the funk beat is so powerful that we’re willing to risk our lives to experience it. 2014–2016: the funk scene has been decimated, most of the balls have been banned and whole sound systems crushed under the armored cars of the police. The Funk Balls live on in memory and in images, sparking vibrant funk scenes in the outskirts of various Brazilian capitals. In Rio de Janeiro, all we can do is wait for better days, until the scene rises anew from the ashes and repression, as it always does." Vincent Rosenblatt Multimedia installation. 250 images, double projection and sound evocation (20 min)