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During Brazilian Black Awareness Month in 2024, some of Rio de Janeiro’s most important spaces for Black culture were graced with a visit from Her Royal Majesty Queen Diambi Kabatusuila, known by her people as Diambi Mukalenga Mukaji Wa Nkashama, which translates to “Queen of the Leopard Order.” Crowned on August 31, 2016, she is the ruler of the Bena Tshiyamba people, a Bakwa Indu nation, formerly part of the Luba Empire, located in the central Kasaï region of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One of Her Royal Majesty’s main missions is to form alliances, working together to challenge global narratives about African people and reconnect with Afro-descendants from the diaspora, especially those who still preserve Bantu traditions. In fact, these traditions will inspire the nearly century-old Mangueira samba school’s 2025 theme for Rio’s famous carnival parade.
On the morning of November 4, Queen Diambi was honored by the city council of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city across the Guanabara Bay, by Councilwoman Benny Briolli, a Black woman and the first trans councilwoman elected in the city. Later that day, the queen visited the Camorim Quilombo, located in Rio’s West Zone, accompanied by the Congolese press outlet Kongo News, indigenous leaders from the Cultural Observatory of the Villages (OCA), and Tata Lemba Dyala, religious leader of the Angola-Kongo tradition (which preserves many Bantu elements) and a member of the Leopard Order, from the Muna Nzo Kongo Dya Mayala Mavuemba Nkôsi Biolê Afro-Brazilian religious temple.
Adilson Almeida, president of the Camorim Quilombo Cultural Association (ACUQCA), facilitated and guided the royal visit to the Camorim Quilombo, located in Rio’s West Zone. All present had also attended Her Royal Majesty’s visit to the home of Tia Ira Rezadeira—a religious figure known as Aunt Ira, the healer—in the Serrinha favela the previous day. Days earlier, Tata Lemba Dyala’s Afro-Brazilian religious temple welcomed the Bantu Queen, who toured various Black and traditional Bantu spaces across the Greater Rio metropolitan region.
The event was also attended by quilombolas and guests, who welcomed her at the Camorim Quilombo with a delicious feijoada cooked over a wood fire. While speaking to the press during the event, Her Majesty commented on the importance of Black November, a month-long observance celebrated in Brazil and significant for all of society, including those who are not descendants of enslaved peoples.
“I see all the different activities and everything that’s happening, and I’ve come here now, to this quilombo, to learn about the historic fight for justice and equality for those who came from Africa over the centuries, whose descendants are here and all across Brazil. I believe the vast majority of Brazilians are of African descent… So, it surprises me that there’s only one month of celebration when the majority of the population is, in fact, of African descent.
But still, it’s good to have a month to recognize the contributions African people have made in building this country, because they didn’t come as slaves—they came as captives. What many don’t know is that, before colonization, Africa was a continent of great empires and civilizations that had a profound impact on the rest of the world. The people who came from Africa didn’t come without knowledge—they brought technologies and wisdom from the African continent that made this country viable for the Portuguese and all who came after, while also being able to work alongside the indigenous communities already present in this territory.
We need to recognize what African people brought to this country—not just labor, but intelligence and wisdom. These contributions helped build what we know today as Brazil. I want to help people understand that, by not embracing and valuing this heritage, Brazil is at a loss. Heritage is wealth. When you use it, when you value it, you gain. I would like Brazilian people to understand that the entire country is strengthened by the heritage of Afro-descendants. Many great things come from Africa, and strengthening ties with Africa means doing so through its descendants in Brazil.” — Her Royal Majesty, Queen Diambi Kabatusuila
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One of the event’s highlights was the sound of drums echoing local jongo rhythms. The group also participated in a walk led by Almeida, who guided them through the quilombo’s woodlands, passing an important historical archaeological site and the river that flows through Camorim. Additionally, a Brazilwood seedling was planted in the quilombo’s forest and symbolically watered with water brought from Congo by Queen Diambi.
At the same event, Professor Leonardo Mattos de Xangô presented the “Ancestral Houses” seal to the Camorim Quilombo. The Ancestral Houses program was established by Municipal Law No. 7,390/2022 and is implemented by Rio’s Municipal Secretariat for Environment and Climate.
Asked about Queen Diambi’s royal visit, Almeida highlighted the significance of welcoming the distinguished Bantu guest. He described the visit as a celebration of ancestral heritage.
“I feel enormous gratitude for the presence of Her Royal Majesty Diambi, who strengthens the ties between us—Africa and Brazil. More and more, this serves to fortify this foundation of family: the African family, the Brazilian family. If I could think of Brazil as a quilombo—although not everyone belongs to this quilombo—Brazil is willing to fight for its own history. For me, her visit represents this milestone. This bond is not new; it is a continuation of centuries past, from millenary Africa to the present moment we are living. She truly brings with her a positive energy, a hope for all of us… I was apprehensive about wanting to touch her, because usually you cannot touch royalty. But when we met, she greeted us with an embrace. And that was so welcoming—it felt like family.
Queen Diambi brings these family ties, and it moves us deeply. Ancestrality… the Queen… reaffirmed this bond and the continuity of Africa. The African people who came from there to build Brazil did so at the cost of great sorrow and hard labor. But today, we remember not only the sorrow but also the work. The name Camorim itself is a reason to celebrate our people—our joy, collectiveness, and love. Because only through love, care, and respect can we achieve change. I often return to the concept of Sankofa from the Adinkra dictionary, which connects the past, present, and future. I always find myself in this space: going back to the past, seeking our origins, learning what is good, bringing it into the present, and building a better future.
People sometimes ask, ‘How can this be done?’ So, in 1998, sitting on the banks of the Camorim River, I asked myself: Where am I from? Who am I? And where do I want to go? Then, I closed my eyes, and I truly arrived in Africa. But I didn’t arrive in any one specific place—I found myself in a village with many elderly people and children, singing, celebrating. I stayed for a while and wandered through other villages. When I came to, I was back on the riverbed of the Camorim, within my own territory. At that moment, I understood that this vision was my mission. I accepted it. I spoke to God and to my ancestrality, committing to carry it forward, but I asked for protection—and I do have that protection. If it weren’t for my ancestral guardians, I wouldn’t be here today to tell this story and to welcome Queen Diambi through this collective effort, marked by a lunch that felt like a family gathering at a long table, with everyone celebrating together. Today is a historic milestone for us, and I believe that everyone who was here will leave with a renewed mindset, one that inspires them to truly fight for their own history—a history that is ours, the history of our people in Brazil, of those who came from elsewhere, and of Africa.” — Adilson Almeida, president of the Camorim Quilombo Cultural Association (ACUQCA)
The Camorim Quilombo was not the final stop on her visit. Queen Diambi remained in Rio for a few more days, during which she visited, for example, the New Blacks Institute (IPN). In addition to Rio de Janeiro, she also traveled to several other Brazilian states in November 2024, including Bahia, Goiás, Minas Gerais, and São Paulo.
It’s important to note that this wasn’t Her Majesty’s first visit to Rio de Janeiro. She had previously visited in 2019, when she also met with Afro-descendants.
About the author: Rhuan Gonçalves is a native of Macaé, a city in the north of Rio de Janeiro state. He holds a degree in History from PUC-Rio and is the director and producer of the documentary “Menino de 47 Vai a Campo”, about the founding of the professional football team of the Império Serrano samba school. He is a photographer for the Imagens do Povo collection, linked to the Observatório de Favelas, located in the Complexo da Maré, and a percussionist for samba schools Império Serrano, Estação Primeira de Mangueira, and Acadêmicos de Vigário Geral.