Batuquesandsamba

Tia Ciata,
Who was truly a top performer
Never turned down a pagode
Before the break of dawn

Image description: This is a painting depicting a group of people dancing and playing musical instruments. From left to right, we see a man wearing green pants and an orange shirt, followed by a woman in a green dress with a white headscarf, followed by another woman in a yellow dress with a white headscarf, and finally a man in brown pants and a blue shirt. They are all dancing and playing instruments such as tambourines and guitars.

Tia Ciata and Tia Carmen do Xibuca (Carmen Teresa da Conceição) are part of the group that left the port region and, in the early 20th century, went to live in another gathering place and residence for descendants of Africans: Praça Onze. There in the Praça and its surroundings, in the aunts' houses, gatherings of musicians and instrumentalists took place. João da Baiana, Donga, Sinhô and Pixinguinha, along with other pillars of Rio's samba, circulated through this vast region — named by Heitor dos Prazeres as an "África em miniatura" ("Africa in miniature") in the 1920s — which stretched from the port area to the slopes of Morro do São Carlos.

Image description: This is an old photograph of a square in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the left side, we see a series of historic buildings with classical architecture. In the center, there is a large garden with trees and a circular fountain. On the right, the street is filled with old vehicles and people walking. In the background, more buildings and a hill are visible. The image is in black and white. In the bottom right corner, it reads "Praça II de Junho, Rio de Janeiro".

Tia Ciata used to hold gatherings that brought together the great musicians who gave rise to carioca samba. It was also there that Black people who had recently arrived from other regions of Brazil often found shelter. The first carnival ranchos emerged in Pequena África in the 19th century, and, in the 20th century, the samba schools followed. Among the tias, the figure of Perciliana Maria Constança also stands out — mother of the famous João da Baiana, an instrumentalist, dancer, and composer born in Rio de Janeiro. Known as the one who introduced the tambourine into samba, he moved through those spaces alongside other popular artists, going on, in the 1920s, to record radio programs.

Image description: This is a black-and-white photograph of a man standing on a street. He is wearing a classic suit with a blazer and trousers, and holding a drum in his right hand. In the background, there is a building with several windows and a stone staircase. The image appears to depict an everyday moment, possibly related to local culture.

A place of arrival, shelter, gathering, and creation, the houses of the tias, the terreiros, and the street corners of Pequena África were the space of resistance and creation of Rio's Black culture. Later, construction works and demolitions in the region, driven by the expansion of urban space, caused these people to migrate to other parts of the city, carrying with them the strength of the African-rooted tradition.

Pequena África is also a space of struggle. For this reason, its significance is marked by the statue representing Zumbi dos Palmares — a Black hero in the fight against slavery in Brazil —, an urban monument located right next to Praça Onze.

Image description: The image is a photograph of a monument with a yellow pyramidal structure at its center. At the top of the monument is a statue of a human head, covered by a helmet. At the base of the monument, there is a variety of colorful flowers arranged in a circle. To the left, there is a white structure and a street lamp. In the background, there is a mountain and a blue sky with some clouds.