‘I need to win because other black women will see and do the same’

One of the few black women in Brazil to buy the rights to a Broadway text, Flávia Santana saw her career gain new contours: before being a singer and actress, she has now become an entrepreneur and cultural producer.

“I identified so much with the text that when I saw it I was already buying the rights together with Tadeu Aguiar. We cannot wait for people to produce things for us to do. The sun rises for everyone, but the shadow is for few”, believes Flávia.

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The text in question is that of the play “O Incident”, which has already been staged on Broadway, won the screens of Netflix in a film of the same name and is now staged on Brazilian stages, in season at Teatro Sesi Firjan Centro. “I watched the film at dawn, on my cell phone, when Tadeu told me. I saw myself in the character. A mother of a black, middle-class American son who disappears after being detained by the police. Our government needs to understand that racism is not just an economic issue, it is a character issue”, she defines.

Mother of a 12-year-old boy, Flávia is aware that her entrepreneurial act does not go unnoticed. “I need to win because there will be other black women who will want to do the same thing and will know where to start. My son is always looking at me to see my reaction. This courage is a lot for being a mother and having a black son. I always tell him that in a mess with the police in the middle, so he doesn’t run or argue, to do everything they ask”, he says.

Kendra, her character in “The Incident”, faces precisely this experience with the police. Mother of a young man who lives in a class A neighborhood and studies in the best schools, he gets a brand new car from his father and, despite economic power, suffers racism when he is stopped with other black friends in a roadblock. “We have to talk about the issue of black people who don’t live in the community. Sometimes, the person struggles in life, lives in Leblon and is treated with racism anyway. That’s why I thought it important to write this text. Privilege is more than having money. It’s being on a deserted street, bumping into a police car and feeling safe”, he defines.

And this project is just the beginning of entrepreneurship for Flávia Santana, who doesn’t intend to stop anytime soon. “If you give me an opportunity, I’ll go there and do it. My goal is to be the woman I wanted to look up to when I was 13, 14 years old. A person to inspire, just like Vilma Melo and Flavia Oliveira”, she summarizes.

The play “The Incident” is on view at Teatro Firjan Sesi Centro until February 12. On Thursdays and Fridays, at 7 pm. Saturdays and Sundays, at 6 pm. Tickets cost R$ 40 (full price).