Owerá
“Resistir pra Existir” [“Resist to Exist”] is a track by Owerá, an Indigenous rapper who lives in the Krukutu Village, in the far south of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The beats were produced by Kelvin Mbarete, member of the Indigenous rap group Brô MC's, from the villages of Jaguapirú and Bororó, near Dourados, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. In the track, Owerá talks about strengthening the representation of his people and about continuing to resist even in the face of a history of genocide.
"Territorial politics is also very important in what I talk about," he says. "I begin by talking about the arrival of white people here, in 1500, when the massacre happened. Many of our peoples were exterminated. But I say that they are still alive. It is we, the youngest, who are out there, in various places in Brazil, carrying the same struggle in our blood”. Singing in Portuguese and Guarani, Owerá realises that, by giving space to his mother tongue, he strengthens the representation of his people.
And he wants each ethnic group to value and keep their culture alive: "When I sing, I talk about my life, about how I was raised. I dedicate this song to all Indigenous peoples, because we are all resisting. Keep your culture alive. Our thinking is that to keep nature alive, you have to leave it alone. Don't touch it”. Kelvin Mbarete says that to create the beat, he listened to the style that Owerá likes and based himself on it. "It's got a gangster feel to it, but with an Indigenous aesthetic. That's what I did and it sounds pretty cool".
The video clip for “Resistir pra Existir”' was directed by Owerá and Dia Freixo, with a special appearance by Juninho Karai. Management was by Thais Pimenta.
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