Arquivo

“I underwent surgery to reduce my stomach and lost 154 pounds. A lot changed. João Gordo almost died because he was too fat. I was always thinner than he was. One day I bumped into João and he said to me’ You are too fat.’ When João Gordo says a thing like that to you, it’s time to begin to worry. I had already thought of having the operation, I was almost 397 pounds, I met the doctor who operated João and I had the operation. I could have died, it’s not a straightforward operation. As I am an artist I decided that this change had to become art. Why Retransformafrikando? In my religion, candomblé, they teach us we change only when we die. But as I am of Obaluaê, a rascal, I decided to trespass on my own religion. I changed without dying. I transformed myself, I re-transformed myself. But I re-transformed myself by staying here, without moving to the other side. And I re-transformed myself “frikando”, from Africa and from the word freak, because I regard myself as black and crazy. The first tune on the CD tells this story: ‘that is why I come back, I transform myself without transforming myself. The essence stayed in its place.’ It is a total ego trip, but it has to do with what we live today, to the fact people cling to iPhones, cable TVs, and money. I wanted to show that the transformation of humanity is possible, without having to die or kill anyone.”André Abujamra Retransformafrikando is a pop music show. The presentation of the band live, a minimalist power trio consisting of André Abujamra on the guitar, Du Moreira on the double bass, and Marcelo Effori on percussion is totally synchronized with a video that shows images collected on Abujamra’s journeys throughout the world and virtual participations of artists and musicians such as Alzira Espíndola, Fernanda Takai, Antonio Abujamra, Miriam Maria, Hugo Hori, among others. The final result will have the scope of a polyphonic super-orchestra.