POPULAR MANIFESTATION

Based on the Pernambucano Caboclinho, the ritual dance Arreia arrives at Curro Velho

The show by the Pernambucan artists and sisters Iara and Íris Campos promotes workshops and performances in the capital and Ilha do Combu

By Helena Saria (FCP)

20/10/2025 16h38

The Curro Velho Workshop Center, part of the Cultural Foundation of Pará (FCP), hosts the programming of the ritual dance show Arreia, conceived by the Pernambucan artists Iara and Íris Campos. The agenda includes a workshop and two performances scheduled for October 21, 22, and 23. The project is supported by the Culture Fund of the State of Pernambuco (Funcultura).

With creative direction by Paulinho 7 Flexas, from Caboclinho 7 Flexas of Recife, Arreia has as its aesthetic matrix the universe of Caboclinho, a northeastern popular manifestation that incorporates indigenous knowledge and religiosities, based on the Sacred Jurema and Afro-Brazilian rituals. The work proposes to the audience a contact with the space between dream, memory, and rituality.

The activities begin on October 21 (Tuesday) with a free Caboclinho Workshop, to be held at the Curro Velho Theater, from 2 PM to 5 PM. The proposal is for participants to have the opportunity to experience the gestures, touches, and rites of the "toy." The first performance of Arreia will be on October 22 (Wednesday) at 7 PM at the Curro Velho Theater. The circulation of the show extends to decentralized areas: on October 23 (Thursday), there will be a special performance at 11 AM at the Municipal School EMEC Sebastião dos Santos Quaresma, located on Ilha do Combu.

The creators reported that the development process of the work occurred during the social isolation period of the pandemic, which intensified the spiritual character of the work. The idea, which had long been a desire of the sisters, was realized as a project of identity affirmation. Íris Campos commented on the emergence of the work: "Arreia is an old desire, and its creation came to us as a breath of Enchantment. We were awarded an emergency grant in our State and created the video performance that is available on YouTube. Only with the reopening of spaces, after the first dose of the vaccine, did Arreia find the possibility of happening in presence, in front of the audience."

Iara Campos added, describing the relationship of the creative process with spirituality: "The creation happened in a totally different way than we had experienced in 20 years of dance. We created our rituals to rehearse, we asked permission from spirituality and ancestry to speak of those who came before, and our home responded by blooming the Liamba foot, which had been sick, the clump of colônia began to flower, and basil (sacred plant) sprouted all over our backyard. We understood that the enchanted ones were with us in this creative process."

The work transits between the mythical and the contemporary, while invoking ancestries and critically addressing the historical violence suffered by the indigenous peoples of the Northeast. The artists affirm that the dancing body becomes an instrument for the reconstruction of narratives and for opening a new space for listening for the audience. After seasons in Recife and São Paulo, the tour arrives in the North, passing through Porto Velho and Rondônia before reaching Belém, seeking a dialogue with Amazonian cultures, including riverside communities.

By hosting initiatives like this, the Cultural Foundation of Pará reinforces its role as the main state body responsible for executing public cultural policies in the state of Pará, promoting the circulation and exchange of national artistic expressions. Follow FCP's actions on their website and social media.