{"id":75249,"date":"2023-07-08T12:28:25","date_gmt":"2023-07-08T15:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=75249"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:07:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:07:44","slug":"memory-of-pride-arts-occupation-night-of-stars-pays-homage-to-the-legacy-of-lgbtqiapn-resistance-in-mare-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=75249","title":{"rendered":"Memory of Pride: Arts Occupation ‘Night of the Stars’ Pays Homage to the Legacy of LGBTQIAPN+ Resistance in Mar\u00e9 [IMAGES]"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pioneering<\/a>
Pioneering drag artist Van Preta performing at the Night of the Stars occupation. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

\"\"<\/em><\/p>\n

This is our latest article in<\/em>\u00a0a\u00a0series<\/a>\u00a0created in partnership with the\u00a0Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies<\/a>\u00a0at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the\u00a0Digital Brazil Project<\/a> on water issues and the LGBTQIAPN+ population in Rio\u2019s favelas and in the Baixada Fluminense\u00a0<\/em>for RioOnWatch.<\/em><\/p>\n

On June 4, the Noite das Estrelas<\/a> (Night of the Stars<\/span>) arts occupation was launched to celebrate the history and memory of LGBTQIAPN+ people in the favelas of Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/a> in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone<\/a>. The occupation revives the historic Night of the Stars events of the 1980s when LGBTQIAPN+ Mar\u00e9 residents held shows and performances in the community. Produced by the Mar\u00e9 Entity<\/a> <\/span>project, the new Night of the Stars arts occupation celebrates and recovers memories from this period.<\/p>\n

\"Performance<\/a>
Performance by Livia Laso at Night of the Stars. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Night of the Stars arts occupation has been held each Sunday since June 4 in the Nova Holanda<\/a> community and will host its final performance this Sunday, July 9, with a three hour event, parading from Rua Teixeira Ribeiro to the Gato de Bonsuccesso<\/a> samba school. Bringing together various art forms including theater, music, and performance, with a lot of creativity, the occupation offers an immersive experience of LGBTQIAPN+ imagination.<\/p>\n

\"Performance<\/a>
Performance by Milu Almeida and Luiz Ot\u00e1vio on Rua Teixeira Ribeiro in the Nova Holanda favela. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A theatrical performance titled Night of the Stars has been developed and is performed by Milu Almeida<\/a>, Dominick Di Calafrio<\/a>, Jaqueline Andrade<\/a>, Marcela Soares, L\u00edvia Laso<\/a>, <\/strong>Preta Queenb Rull<\/a>, with a ballet performance by Arthur Gabriel<\/a>, Codazzi Idd<\/a>, Lua Brainer,<\/a> and Luiz Ot\u00e1vio<\/a>. Past weeks’ events featured performances by guest artists including <\/span>MC<\/a> Natalh\u00e3o<\/a>, MC Caten, and Van Preta, legendary drag queen from the original parties, on the Sunday of Pride Week, June 25. The showcase also features members of the Mar\u00e9 Entity<\/a> collective, formed in 2020 and responsible for hosting this event, a reference of Mar\u00e9 since the 1980s.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marcela Soares, one of the original pioneers of the Night of the Stars party, shares her story.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel honored because I started taking part as a teenager through friends at house parties. Then at street parties, there was an event in [the Mar\u00e9 favela of] Vila do Jo\u00e3o<\/a> and I started there. These activities expanded to different parts of the community, the so-called Gay Shows. When the traditional [Brazilian] June festivals<\/a> happened we went to all the communities here. It was so rewarding being on stage here in Mar\u00e9. It makes you want to cry.<\/span>\u201d <\/span>\u2014 Marcela Soares<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Marcela<\/a>
Marcela Soares performs with a puppet at the Gato de Bonsuccesso samba school. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new generation, such as trans artist Lua Brainer, shares the experience of being able to be part of this legacy.<\/p>\n

“The event is defined in the history of older transgender residents and, as a transgender person currently in the Night of the Stars, I’m also part of this history and its continuation. There’s a [Portuguese rhyming] phrase, ‘if some day I turn into a star, as a drag queen I’ll return.’ Night of the Stars is a continuation, work done for and aimed at the trans bodies of Mar\u00e9, mainly artists. I’m a continuation of the work done previously in the parades through the community. Later there’ll be a further continuation beyond me to another transgender woman in the favela. Each show is an innovation of crossing over, giving support, welcoming. It is a manifestation of the importance of continuation<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>\u2014 Lua Brainer<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As well as the performance on Sunday June 4, the occupation has held various activities throughout the month aimed at LGBTQIAPN+ audiences, such as a cultural production workshop with Bem Medeiros<\/a>; the exhibition Night of the Stars an Eternal Galaxy<\/a> at the Herbert Vianna Cultural Space<\/a> with personal collections of the LGBTQIAPN+ scene; and the pioneering parties and film screening of Night of the Stars<\/a>, shown at the Negro Z\u00f3zimo Bulbul Film Festival<\/a> and, in Mar\u00e9, at the Mar\u00e9 Lesbian Resistance<\/a>, Mar\u00e9 Trans Institute<\/a>, and on Rua Sargento Silva Nunes, in partnership with\u00a0Conex\u00e3o G<\/a>, Center for the Promotion of LGBTIAP+ Citizenship<\/a>, Gilmara Cunha<\/a>, and Redes da Mar\u00e9<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Luiz<\/a>
Luiz Otavio in a traditional June festival costume on stilts. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Created 20 years ago, Night of the Stars emerged during the June festival<\/a> events organized by Nei, a deceased resident and organizer of traditional celebrations in Mar\u00e9. Nei encouraged the creation of a space at his parties for his friends who made costumes. The initiative was later named Night of the Stars by the late Menga, a former resident of the Rubens Vaz<\/a> community within Mar\u00e9. Jaqueline Andrade, part of the collective and show, reports that the revival event has been well received.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Those coming here who are from Mar\u00e9 experienced these shows. They have a really close connection. I saw these shows happening when I was a child, so it’s really important for me to be part of Night of the Stars, because I feel that it’s part of my body, it’s part of who I am, of who I am now. I’m here because these people made it happen. They were essential for my existence to be strengthened now. I’m very proud to be part of this project, a life project. It’s an honor to be with Marcela and Madame, see the shows again and be part of this.<\/span>\u201d \u2014 Jaqueline Andrade<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Jaqueline<\/a>
Jaqueline Andrade, Artur Gabriel, Milu Almeida, and other artists during the show. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paulo Lino<\/a>, one of the show’s directors, talks about the group’s motivations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to debate which are the spaces we can be heard in. We always appear in the context of violence and we want to break with this because that’s not what makes us. We’re victims and at the same time are given the responsibility of dealing with this problem, these deaths. We want to reverse this situation and place LGBT people in the place they deserve, which is the place of art, production, and creativity. Night of the Stars really comes from this perspective of us celebrating our bodies. We want this project to run a lot, so it can be an inspiration to help put other LGBT people in spotlight.<\/span>\u201d \u2014 Paulo Lino<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The debuting trans artist, Artur Azevedo, said that the project has exceeded his expectations.<\/p>\n

“We hoped it would be a big project but we had no idea it would take on this magnitude. People have come from various places to see the show. There are always people who share their memories from when they took part in the past and get emotional because we’re reviving the initiative. This is my first ever show, so I’m really grateful.<\/span>\u201d \u2014 Arthur Azevedo<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Lua<\/a>
Lua Brainer in a performance at the Night of the Stars occupation. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Lua Brainer, the importance of holding the event is justified in the battle to overcome violent stigmas.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the letters in the acronym [LGBTQIAPN+], the T is the most vulnerable and occupies this space in the face of violence in a system which wants to kill, appropriate, and erase our bodies. All the letters are important, but unlike the others, I’ll only live to age 35 according to statistics. How do I transform the T into a powerful reference so that others can live and see themselves mirrored back? My body is experience. I want to live longer than 35, like all the others. My letter is a combination of history about us, about what it is to be a woman, about our bodies, continuation, and movement. Being in this favela and being trans creates a lot of new meaning. We ‘transition’ Mar\u00e9. Being here is a way of showing other trans people that they can be a star too.<\/span>\u201d \u2014 Lua Brainer<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The event is sponsored by Rio de Janeiro City Hall and the Municipal Culture Secretariat<\/a> through the Rio Promotion Program\u00a0(FOCA<\/a>) and has support from<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Cia Marginal<\/a>, Conex\u00e3o G, LGBTI Citizenship Center<\/a>, Gato de Bonsucesso<\/a>, and Luminous Artifacts, and partners Redes da Mar\u00e9, Itinerant Mar\u00e9 Space, and the Herbert Vianna Municipal Cultural Space.<\/p>\n

Information about the Night of the Stars<\/a> art occupation performance<\/b><\/h3>\n