Ministry of Culture suggests establishing Hip-Hop Day in Brazil

The Ministry of Culture (MinC) is going to promote a public hearing this Wednesday (9) to hear the population about the chance of establishing August 11th as Hip-Hop Day in Brazil, through a bill.

The purpose of the hearing, according to the folder, is “to enable society to present opinions, suggestions, criticisms and information regarding the importance of valuing hip-hop culture, contributing to the bill”. In disclosing the event, the folder suggests being favorable to the proposal.

“The celebration of Hip-Hop Day and the Hip-Hop Culture Valuation Week aims to develop a collaborative agenda of initiatives to promote actions and programs of the federal public administration and federated entities to give visibility, promote and disseminate this culture in across the country,” he says.

The MinC should also sign a decree in the coming days with a series of actions to promote hip-hop in the country. Brazil may be the first country in the world to have such a decree.

The initiative, according to the portfolio, aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop. There is also the intention of creating a Hip-Hop Culture Appreciation Week.

A few weeks ago, the president of the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan), Leandro Grass, received a request from members of the hip-hop culture to transform the musical genre into the country’s intangible heritage.

Currently, musical genres such as samba, frevo, carimbó, maracatu and forró are Brazil’s intangible heritage. Sertanejo is not on the list.

With hip-hop, Lula’s government again highlights rupture with previous administration

The audience for the promotion of hip-hop is yet another sign of how the current government intends to break with the previous administration in the field of culture as well.

In March, the Ministry of Culture overturned a 2021 decree by the Bolsonaro government that made explicit mention of sacred art among the areas eligible for funding under the Rouanet Law.

In Jair Bolsonaro’s version, the regulation provided that a representative of sacred art and another of fine arts should be present on the commission that judges the projects benefited by the Rouanet Law. The change made by the PT management portfolio does not exclude the possibility that representatives of this segment are appointed.