Batekoo Festival
Batekoo is a festival made by, and for, Black LGBTQIA+ people in Brazil. Created by a collective of the same name, the event centres the Afro-diasporic Brazilian community.
TW: LGBTQ+ violence
Chosen for: Driving Diversity.
In 2021, news reports circulated on LGBTQ+ violence in Brazil, and in 2022 it was reported that the country has the highest murder rate for trans people. Batekoo – an Afro-centric LGBTQ+ collective – was founded in 2014 by Maurício Sacramento and Wesley Miranda. Originating from Salvador, the group stands in opposition to the country’s conservative attitudes – specifically, its levels of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime, racism and sexism.
With Black Brazilian music and dance at its core, Batekoo regularly hosts parties and their own annual festival. The events are not only spaces for safety, solidarity and community, but also joy, creativity and self-expression. Through these gatherings, Batekoo centre genderqueer and trans people who may not feel safe expressing themselves outside of these spaces. For every Baketoo event, the collective implements a Trans Free policy, allowing trans people of colour to have free access to parties.
2022 marked the inaugural edition of Batekoo Festival, which was held in the East Zone of São Paulo. It showcased 16 hours of music and over 20 acts on a line-up that leaned into funk, Afrobeats and more. Featuring the likes of Urias, Afro B, Brazilian singer-songwriter Karol Conká and LUDMILLA, the collective took a genre-agnostic approach to the programming. “Funk is essential to our culture, especially in Brazil – our culture helps define who we are,” Sacramento explained to Trippin. “Our parties are never the same. What you may hear at one party in São Paulo will be different from what you hear at one party in Salvador or a party in Rio. We always try to include all the elements of Brazil wherever we go.”
The 2023 edition is sure, then, to contain some unpredictable thrills. While the line-up is yet to be announced, what we can expect from the next kiki is a celebration of the values that Batekoo are always pushing for: love, safety and funk. The name Batekoo itself literally translates to “shake that ass” – a statement of movement, Blackness and freedom.
Dates for Batekoo Festival 2023 are yet to be announced.
