Hilary Marie Johnson Fieldwork Report – Tinker Grant For

Hilary Marie Johnson Fieldwork Report – Tinker Grant For approximately one month (December 12th, 2012 – January 9th, 2015), I was in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, conducting fieldwork for my MA thesis on a genre of music known as funk carioca and its impact on discourse surrounding the social inclusion of the favelas, impoverished communities primarily located in the city’s periphery. The goal of my fieldwork was to interview consumers – fans, and non- fans – and producers – artists – of funk carioca, so that I could have a better picture of what inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro thought of the genre of music. Prior to departing, I established as many contacts as I could to ensure that my short stay in Brazil would be as fruitful as possible. I set up a meeting at a local NGO, Observatório de Favelas, which manages a project known as Imagens do Povo and was put in contact with a DJ that worked in the funk carioca scene. Acutely aware of the difficulties that I might face in the field during both the holiday season and the beginning of summer vacation, I worked to set up as many meetings as possible during the first week. I was successful in meeting with one of the directors of Imagens do Povo, and touring the NGO itself. I learned a great deal about the issues that faced the complex of favelas that the organization worked most closely with – Maré. I also had the exciting opportunity to meet a resident of the favela who, through an Imagens do Povo initiative, became a photographer and documented many baile funk – funk carioca dance parties – in his work. I unfortunately did not have IRB approval when I met this photographer, but once I obtained approval, I interviewed him on his work as a photographer as well as his experience as a consumer of funk carioca, both in the favela and in the Zona Sul, the Hilary Marie Johnson Fieldwork Report – Tinker Grant southern and most affluent part of the city. This experience was unique, unexpected, and contributed greatly to my fieldwork. The period from a few days before Christmas until a few days after the New Year proved to be difficult to schedule interviews, for most artists were either traveling or performing in other cities. I did, however, utilize participant observation to talk as much about funk carioca’s perception among the middle and upper classes. All of my contacts in Rio de Janeiro are very familiar with the premise of my research, and while no formal interviews were conducted, lots of conversation that encompasses various aspects of funk carioca’s prominence throughout the city was explored. I also had the invaluable opportunity to explore scenes of samba production, a genre of Brazilian music with similar [black] roots that does not evoke the discomfort nor tension that funk carioca can. Toward the end of my fieldwork, I was able to interview two funk carioca artists and two DJs that specialized in the circulation of funk carioca music. One of the artists that I interviewed was relatively new to the scene and was able to convey very intriguing observations in terms of how funk carioca is performed in the present day. The other artist is considered to be the king of funk carioca, his career spanning 25 years. He was able to tell me quite a bit about the evolution of funk carioca, and both artists were able to provide very interesting information as to how they viewed funk carioca to be consumed in the Zona Sul. The two DJs also provided very pertinent information, prompting me to ponder their importance in the circulation of funk carioca, which I hadn’t really considered before. The information I gathered in the field will prove to be very helpful as I write my MA thesis. .

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