To mark the Amazon Day, celebrated on September 5th, a collective of organizations promotes the Amazon Day Festivals 2022. With the motto “Take your foot off the ground and keep the Amazon standing”, the events, that count on support of socio-environmental entities, take place between September 3 and 10, in eight cities in the country, five of them in the Legal Amazon (Belém, Macapá, Manaus, Santarém and São Luís) and the others in the Southeast region of Brazil (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte).
In an interview to the Nexo portal, the organization says that the mobilization intends to convey the message that the impact of the Amazon goes far beyond its borders. “Reverberating the strength that comes from the forests, listening to the voice of the people and collectively strengthening forest defenders are the axes that move the Amazon Day Festivals”, said Deuza Brabo, coordinator of the collective Re Ocupa, which is part of the organization, in a note about the events. “Our goal is to bring together diverse people, places, collectives with celebration, healing and love.”
Schedule - The official opening of the festivals happens in São Paulo, on September 3rd, at Tendal da Lapa, with the artists from Pará Gaby Amarantos, Suraras do Tapajós and DJ Zek Picoteiro, the Amazon singer Djuena Tikuna, the Mato Grosso DJ Eric Terena, among others.
In Belém, capital of Pará state, the event will take place at Portal da Amazônia, a public area on the banks of the Guamá River. Also on September 3rd, there will be the Film Festival of the Periphery and Traditional Communities of the Amazon, in parallel with an exhibition of photographs. On Sunday, September 4th, it will be the turn of concerts by national artists such as BaianaSystem and MC Carol, and local attractions such as Maderito, Viviane Batidão, Leona Vingativa and Surreal Crocodilo.
The final event will take place in Santarém, Pará, on September 10th, at the Aeroporto Velho. Attractions include children's theater, carimbó dance, collective Santarém Trap Show and Special Show Vozes da Amazônia with Mestre Chico Malta, Nilson Chaves and Silvan Galvão, among other artists.
The complete agenda, with times, addresses and attractions, can be accessed on the event's website (in Portuguese only).
Initiative wants to gather 1.5 million signatures in defense of the Amazon
In parallel with the Festival, with concerts scheduled for the eight cities, the Virada Cultural Amazônia de Pé [Cultural Turn Amazon standing up] is being organized, led by the Amazônia de Pé Campaign, in favor of a bill of popular initiative that seeks to restrict land grabbing and ensure that public lands in the Amazon region are destined only for purposes such as the demarcation of indigenous lands, the creation of conservation units, among others.
To enable the project to be presented at the National Congress, the initiative needs to gather at least 1.5 million signatures. These signatures can be collected throughout the Virada program, which brings together more than 400 decentralized actions across the country, such as workshops, cine-debates, conversation circles and other activities. At the virtual address, it is possible to locate both the map with the activities already programmed and to register a cultural activity that will integrate the set of activities in support of the project and collection of signatures.
