Every year, the community of Rocinha anxiously awaits the arrival of Holy Week, and in particular Good Friday. During this year the excitement revolved around the 19th Annual Via Sacre (Sacred Way) production, by the Cia de Teatro da Rocinha Roca Cacacultura.
Under the warm night sky, the procession and festivities took place on the streets of Rocinha, on the Rua de Gavea and Caminho do Boiadeiro. Promptly, at 8pm the crowd gathered in front of the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Chapel, where they awaited the ensemble’s actors. After a few minutes, a year’s worth of practice is put on display for the community to see. The crowd is made up mostly of Rocinha residents, but there were residents from other favelas, and even tourist taking in the festivities.
The production was directed under guidance of Aurelio Mesquita, a fellow resident of Rocinha. According to Mesquita, there have been a few differences with recent Holy Week actives, one which has included the support from the Ministry of Culture since 2009. It was through this collaboration that Good Friday activities were able to gain more visibility among Rio de Janeiro’s residents.
This has been considered one the best Holy Week celebrations in recent years, and will only continue to gain support. Though media coverage by traditional outlets failed to disseminate this event to the larger city community, reflecting a media biased towards this vibrant community, the changing reputation of Rocinha, and the increased visibility of this event guaranteed that positive word of mouth advertisement would get the message out.
From the staff and team at MR, we’d like to wish you a Happy Easter. We wish you health, love, strength, peace and knowledge!!