A New Brazilian Magazine Is a Fantasy for Dark Days

This energized counter-establishment movement is on full display at a party called Batekoo, which was started in 2014 in the state of Bahia by Mauricio Sacramento and Artur Santoro, who are D.J.s and producers. They described the party as “a safe space for minorities in general to express themselves through culture, black music, dance and aesthetics.”

Mr. Sacramento and Mr. Santoro are featured in Samba Zine, in a story that was photographed in late August at New York City’s Afropunk festival. They now hold their events in Salvador, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife and Belo Horizonte, and have also expanded internationally because, they said in an email, “aesthetics are not detached from politics. Occupying one’s own body is the first step in occupying new social spaces. By this, we mean building the self-esteem of communities that have been subjectively molded out of self-hatred.”

Though there is a palpable momentum behind queer Brazilians’ expanding presence and visibility, there were roadblocks to Mr. Corbetta’s vision of celebrating them in glossy pages in a country with a history of racism, homophobia and transphobia.

More than a few subjects dropped out at the 11th hour, perhaps nervous about blowback for appearing in a queer-centric project. Mr. Corbetta said this was part of it, but that the trepidation is overarching. “Unless there are more people that are publicly out there, there will always be fear,” he said.

“On one side, you have people that are not necessarily in a position of mainstream power, and these are the people that are fighting for change and for rights,” he said. “On the other, you have those that are more mainstream, but these people, generally speaking, do not take stands. They don’t make their gayness visible. It’s O.K. to be out, but it’s rare for someone to be out and outspoken about it.”

Samba Zine, whose first issue is 200 pages, has no advertising, in the traditional sense. Instead, brand partners, including Luxottica and the Brazilian underwear label Mash, provided funding and their products are featured “organically” in photo spreads.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/28/style/samba-zine-brazil-queer-culture.html?emc=rss&partner=rss