Congado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Santa Efigênia

It’s the second Sunday of January on the Land of Souls.

A location in Brazil, in the heart of Minas Gerais state, named precisely by the incoming arrival of black men and women. From their echoing songs, colorful garments and flag-waving, we feel they carry tales of foreign lands. From their firm posture and deeply dignified gaze, we know they are the children of kings, bringing their pulsing predecessors in drums. Little by little, we understand: they are kings and queens of Congo in Brazil; they are Congados of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, São Benedito, and Santa Efigênia.

Colorful ribbons, white garments, flags, reisados, and processions: groups meet, perform, and party. The city is transformed into a loom of intertwined stories before attentive eyes and ears. Always leading the march and first to perform is the local group: the Guarda de Ouro Preto.

The Congado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Santa Efigênia, Guarda de Ouro Preto, are formed by the descendants of one of the Kings of Congo, an African black man by the name of Galanga. In Brazil, after being enslaved, he was called Francisco. In what was then Vila Rica and is now Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais state, Galanga obtained permission to explore an abandoned gold mine and, during his few breaks from work, he extracted the ore that would later buy his, his son’s and three hundred other people’s freedom. In one of the village’s churches, Francisco encountered the image of a black saint and became enchanted by it: Santa Efigênia. And it was in her honor that, in 1747, Galanga offered a party, in gratitude of the fulfillment of freedom: the region’s first Congado, where he was crowned as Chico Rei, a king of Congo in Brazil.

This is a story that isn’t portrayed in Brazilian books, and it’s often referred to as a legend. But, for those congado families in Ouro Preto, Chico Rei is the memory of a reality preserved through the speech and the chants of their people.

The Reinado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e de Santa Efigênia festivities make one of the most important congado celebrations in Brazil. The Guarda de Ouro Preto hosts this party and welcomes about thirty other Congados and an audience of approximately ten thousand people every January to celebrate Chico Rei.

“We carry our ancestors’ memory.

We are Chico Rei’s matrix”

Captain Katia, Congado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Santa Efigênia

In the congado festivities, that sprawled over to other regions of Minas Gerais state and Brazil starting from Ouro Preto, many other stories featuring black people and cultures are celebrated. One of the main narratives celebrated by the Congados is Nossa Senhora do Rosário’s apparition on the ocean during the slavery years: it is said that the image appeared on the ocean and white men tried but couldn’t rescue her, so they allowed black men to give it a try. With their drums, dances, and enchantments, they gained Nossa Senhora do Rosário’s trust, who came up to shore.

“It was by the ocean

That the black man cried…

Upon seeing Our Lady

Emerging from the waters

Covered in flowers”

Excerpt from a song performed by Congado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Santa Efigênia

In hopes of keeping the ancient energies alive, and in gratitude to the saints of their devotion, each Folguedo or Congado brigade prepare parades and performances displaying a symbolic turn in situations of repression experienced by African slaves brought to Brazil. Much more than a show of beauty, the congado festivities are processions of faith for peoples that, by means of survival aesthetics, reassure each other of the possibilities for a different social structure, where drums are in the center and Afro-Brazilian men and women are crowned as kings and queens.

“This song

Comes from within your soul

In form of a prayer

To break the chains

Of racism and oppression”

Excerpt from song performed by Congado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e Santa Efigênia

In 2015, the Guarda de Ouro Preto was under the leadership of three captains: Rodrigo, Francisco, and Kátia (the first woman to lead a Kingdom in Ouro Preto). Captains are the group’s congadeiros, responsible for the organization and harmony of their Kingdom. They ensure knowledge is passed down from parents to children, and also take care of all the details involved in organizing a Folguedo.

In a Kingdom of Congo, everything is about faith, everything is sacred: instruments, garments, rituals, and performances. Aside from the captains, other important elements in a Congado are the rosary (a symbol of devotion to Nossa Senhora), the court formed by a king and a queen, usually black men and women admired within the community, and the flags: ornate fabric banners often carrying saints’ images, making way for the Folguedo or local party to begin.

During the Reinado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e de Santa Efigênia festivities, the Congados – starting with the hosting Guarda de Ouro Preto – experience some rituals like the procession of Dawn, the raising of flags’ poles, crown confirmations, the flag parade, and the lowering of the poles. This year, voices were even more potent: groups could echo their praise (chants) in a space that had long been silenced: inside the church.

The only thing stronger than what they experience during theses days is what the Congados bring back to their paths and homes after the party is over. In songs and chatter, congadeiros exchange knowledge about their ancestors, listen to stories, and reconfirm their beliefs. After walking into the church for praising, releasing with firm voices the stories that represent them… they carry the reaffirmation of Afro-Brazilian faith, enchantment, and power. With Nossa Senhora do Rosário’s blessings, strengthened in Chico Rei, their countenances teach us as they leave: yes, resistance is beautiful.