{"id":64423,"date":"2021-03-05T11:59:57","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T14:59:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=64423"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:08:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:08:36","slug":"the-key-to-the-cage-funk-as-the-liberating-art-of-favela-bodies-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=64423","title":{"rendered":"The Key to the Cage: Funk as the Liberating Art of Favela Bodies [PODCAST]\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This article is the latest contribution to our year-long reporting project, \u201c<\/span><\/i>Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas<\/span><\/i><\/a>: Deconstructing Social Narratives About Racism in Rio de Janeiro.\u201d Follow our <\/span><\/i>Rooting Anti-Racism in the Favelas series here<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

As the main name of today’s carioca<\/em> funk scene, it is impossible to remember DJ Rennan da Penha<\/a> without immediately thinking of the Baile da Gaiola<\/a> (Cage Ball funk party), which used to take place in the favelas of Complexo da Penha<\/a>, in Rio’s North Zone<\/a>. The DJ gained fame and recognition as the party\u2014the main promoting stage for 150BPM<\/a>, a beat born in the Nova Holanda<\/a> favela at the hands of DJ Polyvox<\/a>\u2014also stole the spotlight and became the city’s main pulse. Despite not happening in the same astronomical proportion as before, the ball did make a few attempts at a comeback, even in the midst of the pandemic. Compared to past editions, however, they happened less often and with smaller audiences. At its peak, on normal party days, 10,000 people attended the ball in Complexo da Penha. During special celebrations or events, almost 25,000 people danced through the streets of Penha, like in 2018, for DJ Rennan’s birthday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Baile<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2018, at the height of its success, the Baile da Gaiola brought thousands of people together in the streets and alleys of Penha, though it began to occupy new physical spaces, as both an idea and as a force. The songs that packed the balls were hits in Rio and other Brazilian states. DJ Rennan’s podcasts were also widely listened to, and are still available on his SoundCloud channel<\/a>. But it was in his own city that his sounds conquered increasingly diverse audiences: DJ Rennan performed in concert venues and nightclubs across Rio, transforming them into the Baile da Gaiola itself, taking a bit of Penha to the whole city<\/a>. Rennan broke the hierarchy of the stage as the place of power, conquering a space that DJs had only ever reached in the electronic music scene: the center of the stage, the center of the scene.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DJ<\/a><\/p>\n

A favela resident, he was the main DJ of one of the biggest funk balls the city has ever seen. After all, there is no record of any other party bringing 25,000 people a night to the favela. Not only did Rennan play at concert venues in the most varied areas of Rio, but also in other states, such as Amazonas<\/a>, Minas Gerais<\/a>, Esp\u00edrito Santo<\/a> and S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a>. But this boldness in breaking the boundaries between the favela and the spaces outside them has always bothered many people. This discomfort reached its peak notably after Baile da Gaiola’s first LGBT+ Parade<\/a>, the first gay pride parade in the neighborhood of Penha<\/a>, held on January 26, 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n