Lezeira: Afro-indigenous dance from the Sertão region of Piauí. Fieldwork and the challenges of heritage recognition

The Multimodal Ethnomusicology Laboratory (MULTIMUS) is delighted to welcome researchers Eduardo Pontin and Francisca Sousa for the lecture ‘Lezeira: Afro-indigenous dance of the Sertão region of Piauí. Fieldwork experiences and the challenges of heritage recognition’. The event will take place on 22 October, from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm, in Room 113 of the ECA-USP Central Building.

Presentation

Lezeira is a circle dance for adults that has been practised since at least the 19th century by farmers in quilombos and traditional rural communities in the Sertão region of Piauí. Between 2020 and 2022, researchers Eduardo Pontin and Francisca Sousa lived in the region where the Lezeira is widely practised, maintaining close ties with the community that preserves this cultural heritage. This immersion led to the publication of the award-winning book *Vamô Vadiá Nesta Lezeira* and to safeguarding initiatives organised in collaboration with IPHAN and municipal and state authorities, resulting in structural improvements for traditional masters and groups. The process of this fieldwork and the challenges involved in recognising Lezeira as cultural heritage are the central themes of this lecture.

Speakers

Eduardo Pontin is an ethnomusicologist and researcher specialising in ancestral knowledge and Brazilian oral traditions. In 2025, he won second place in the Sílvio Romero Competition (IPHAN) with his research on the Samba de Cumbuca of Piauí. He is the music producer of the ‘Lezeira do Sertão do Piauí’ album series (field recordings). In the field of documentary preservation, he coordinates the Nêgo Bispo Collection. He is also a founding member of the Instituto Glória Ao Samba (IGS), where he works on preserving memory and editing books on the history of samba.

Francisca Sousa is a journalist specialising in ethno-journalism and ethno-photography. Between 2020 and 2022, she carried out extensive field research in the Sertão region of Piauí, conducting over 150 interviews and producing previously unpublished audiovisual documentation. In 2021, she founded the Florestense Academy of Popular Culture in her hometown, awarding diplomas to traditional masters. She acted as a mediator in the historic revival of the Reisado in Floresta do Piauí (which had been absent for over 40 years) and in the recognition of local masters as Living Heritage of the State. She is the director of the short documentaries “Seu Chiquim do Batuco do Brás” and “São Gonçalo – Promessa se Paga Dançando”.

Co-ordination: Yuri Prado