Rio de Janeiro burst into colour and celebration on Thursday as residents filled the streets to honour Black Consciousness Day, a national holiday that pays tribute to Afro-Brazilian heritage, resilience, and their powerful impact on the nation.
“We grow up in the favela, we talk with honesty,” actor Marcelo Valentim said proudly. “They wished for my downfall, but I’m still here. They expected me to be poor, yet I’ve succeeded.”
The Tia Ciata procession takes its name from the iconic Black cultural matriarch whose early 20th-century Rio home became a meeting point for musicians who helped shape what would later define Brazil’s sound: samba.
Her legacy blended Afro-Brazilian spirituality with artistic expression, making her a defining figure in Rio’s cultural roots.Gracy Mary Moreira, Tia Ciata’s great-granddaughter, explained: “November 20 is a moment to reflect, to resist, to talk about who we are, to share our traditions. It’s a day when we honour our culture.”
The date commemorates the death of Zumbi dos Palmares, a freedom fighter who stood against the Portuguese enslavement of Africans and remains a symbol of Black liberation in Brazil.
