André Piruka

Brazilian percussion player and Head of Grupo Höröyá It isn’t right to pick the heritage and creativity of oppressed cultures without thinking about the repercussions. This is appropriation. But Höröya has taken a different path. The band from São Paulo does not imitate Afrobeat or Afrojazz. It makes a conscious use of these. In the context of race and class segregation that shapes Brazilian social life, it becomes a political stance. Its front man, André Piruka knows very well what means to be Afro-Brazilian today. His musical compositions, his use of the African instruments and rhythms, show a deep respect and understanding of a cultural tradition that differs from certain stereotypes that still shape the way how Brazil understands its relation to Africa, André Piruka shows a deep respect and understanding of a cultural tradition that differs from certain stereotypes that still shape the way how Brazil understands its relation to Africa, despite that Africa has dramatically shaped the Brazilian musical culture for centuries. The music created by the African diaspora in Brazil, and everywhere too, has been the result of a collective struggle carried out in the most inhumane conditions. Its survival talks about the resilience of thousands of women and men at the moment of their extermination. Any use, performance, rework or reinterpretation of this musical heritage need to have it in mind. So, it is with Höröya, and many other bands in Brazil, that make use of Afrobeat departing from the slums of their own reality.