“Vovó era preta- Uma luz a seguir" (Grandma was black: a light to follow) narrates, for the first time in theater, the story of Maria José Lessa de Moraes, a black woman who lived in the 1940s in the newly founded municipality of Ipiaú, in the Cacaueira Zone, and starred in a history marked by pioneers in terms of gender and race.
Eleven unpublished songs are presented in a show that brings together different characters to tell the story of Zezé Lessa, a woman who managed the family business after the purchase of cocoa farms, who became the first colonel of the Baiano Cacau Zone and who had her trajectory also marked by the relationship with the local community.
“We bring together chronicles, music and poetry to tell this real story, marked by the female role in the mid-twentieth century with the support of an entire community. The songs are bridges built between European and American culture and Cuban and African rhythms, bringing our Northeastern culture as a result of this encounter.”
The show can be presented either in Portuguese or in English and assembled in either of the two formats, depending on the contractor's capacity:
- COMPLETE -
musicians (accordion, piano and percussion) + audio technician + lighting technician
- REDUCED -
playback + audio technician + light technician
Rachel Lessa Actress, singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, vocal coach, theater and speech arts teacher, Rachel was once a finalist for Ídolos and has shared the stage with artists such as Zélia Duncan, Mariene de Castro, Diogo Nogueira, Ivan Lins, Shanghai and Steve Coleman.
Script, research, conception and lyrics
Rachel Lessa
Musical direction
Rachel Lessa
Music production, arrangements and recording
Thiago Mendes e Rachel Lessa
Stage direction
Jackson Costa
Piano and accordion
Thiago Mendes
Live percussion
Emerson Taquari
Recorded percussion
Rodrigo Lima
Set and costumes
Zuarte Junior
Lighting
Luciano Reis
Visagism
Rino Carvalho
Promotion, logo and design
Hugo Ricardo
Website e IT
Adriano Marques
Press office
Kirk Moreno Torres
Production
Rachel Lessa e Yolanda Nogueira
Sound technician
Caetano Bezerra
