A Galloping Body
Pomba-Gira, Myth, Mitodologia em Arte, Black Feminism, Ritual Theater
The work aims to investigate the Afro-Brazilian myth Pomba-Gira from the perspective of guide-myth (LYRA, 2013), experienced bodily from the creation of a series of performances uncovered by Mitologia em Arte (LYRA, 2013). Mitodologia em Arte proposes a path of procedures in the restoration of image and myth as devices of self-recognition. In the experience of performing the Pomba-Gira, the derogatory term of mulata ends up being stretched, working on a broader scope of female figures that are sexually objectified and departing from a historical context of discrimination due to their African matrices. Being a black woman, the author-researcher of this project, who embodies the figure of the Pomba-Gira, I wish to raise questions on societal racism or structural racism in Brazil and on black feminism, seeking to elaborate these issues in the performing arts. In convergence with the material of Mitologia em Arte, (“Mythodology in Art”), by Lyra, this work also seeks to dialogue with the concepts of Encruzilhada (Crossroads), Pedagogia das Encruzilhadas (Pedagogy of the Crossroads), Luiz Rufino (2019), the myth of the Pomba-Gira, Andréa Lage (2004), Stefania Capone (2003), Reginaldo Prandi (1996), Racism, Grada Kilomba (2019), intersectionality, Angela Davis (1981) and of Performance Art, Renato Cohen (2002) to investigate the myth of the Pomba-Gira.