Queen of the Empire, Quitéria Chagas regrets the absence of black women beyond Avenida: ‘Commercially we are invisible’

When she steps onto Avenida this Sunday, opening the Império Serrano parade as queen of the school, Quitéria Chagas will be making history. Not only for the 26 years of carnival. The eternal passista made Marquês de Sapucaí also a place of struggle. Quitéria was one of the first to defend more space for women from the community in prominent positions in parades, especially in the ever coveted position of queen of drums. A flag that became hers since she lost the crown years ago, “sold” to the highest bidder.

“The public is more demanding, canceling those who don’t know how to samba. Today, fortunately, after years of struggle, we are the majority of the Special Group. We see the black women of the communities occupying the position of queen. It is the place they deserve for being the protagonists of this party”, says Quitéria, who will help tell the story of her friend Arlindo Cruz in the Império parade.

Devil, gladiator, mermaid: what the drum queens of the Special Group in Rio will look like

But that battle is not completely won. Quitéria Chagas regrets the fact that those who are also carnival stars are not earning money from advertising.

“There are a lot of people who make an anti-racist speech on the internet, but go there and take the place of the black woman at carnival. Why call an international top model, who has nothing to do with samba, to be a muse and earn millions with it “We all spend a lot to be there and commercially we are invisible. The advertising market shows no interest in us. It uses the carnival brand to profit, but they don’t use people who are really from samba”, he vents.

Queen of drums at Padre Miguel, Thalita Zampirolli wants to give visibility to transsexuals: ‘It’s not to win cookies’

Quitéria believes that this story can change. Some schools, however, still have to give the role of queen to those who help them financially. This is the case of her own Império Serrano, which has Darlin Ferrattry, mother of singer Lexa, in charge of the drums since 2022: “We are friends and her importance has been great at this moment. They weren’t able to hire a passista and she ended up collaborating a lot”.

Away from Carnival, Nana Gouvêa speaks of the time as queen of the drums: ‘I didn’t pay, I received a salary of R$ 5 thousand to dance samba’

Photos: Priscila Nicheli
Styling: Samantha Szczerb
Beauty: Victor Fattori