Olodum drum group unveils digital archive to celebrate African-Brazilian culture

Olodum, the street drumming group that promotes African-Brazilian culture and is an icon of Carnival in Salvador, Bahia, has celebrated the 38th anniversary of its foundation this week. But behind the scenes of its Carnival appearances, Olodum is also actively engaged on the social change front to combat social discrimination and racism, build pride, promote African-Brazilian art and culture, and protect the civil and human rights of marginalized people in Bahia and Brazil.

To mark this special celebration, Olodum signed an agreement with the government of Bahia state on Tuesday (April 25) to create a digital collection for its heritage center. Once they have been digitized, the group's historical pictures, audio recordings, and documents will become available online on a web portal.

It is estimated the collection will comprise 234,000 items, including ornaments, costumes, books, documents, cassettes, and video footage reviving the group's history, as well as gold records, trophies, medals, and honors received in several countries.

The partnership was signed by Fábia Reys, Bahia State Secretary for Racial Equality, and Olodum President João Jorge Rodrigues.

“This is a milestone initiative that will revive Olodum's history of social change and outreach. It will highlight the group's educational role by acknowledging their efforts teaching drumming, African dance, and the black heritage of Bahia to 15 to 19-year-olds. We celebrate Olodum's history as a heritage icon of Bahia,” the secretary said.

“We are giving some of what we have built back to our city and our state in a digital archive format that will provide deeper insight into our attire, recollections, heritage, songs, and the historical events we've been through. We have been visited by Nelson Mandela, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson, and this has been instrumental in opening Bahia to the world. Now is our time to share all this and give it back to Bahia and the world in a up-to-date, digital format,” said Olodum's president. “It will be an important resource for school education because we tell the stories of Madagascar, Egypt, Ethiopia. Students will be able to learn using a resource that can be explored in handheld format. The content we are offering will contribute towards people's education.”

Translated by Mayra Borges