Andean concept of good living theme of Festival Latinidades 2023
A concept that flips the current logic behind the world and its economies on its head, with care for others and the environment in place of profit and development at all costs. This is what the Andean social system of good living stands for. After making major impact on public policies in countries like Ecuador and Bolivia, the idea was given momentum in Brazil by the Black Women’s March.
Good living is the theme of this year’s Festival Latinidades, which is holding its 16th edition providing a space for political and cultural debates surrounding July 25th, the International Day of Black Latin American and Caribbean Women.
The event takes place in July in Brasília and for the first time also in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Salvador. Festival creator and director Jaqueline Fernandes explained how the idea for the theme came about.
“The concept has come to signal a stance against what we’re going through under capitalism today—the unrestrained exploitation of nature and human beings. Our discussion at Latinidades comes under a range of perspectives, [as we think of] how good living can operate in people’s access to public policies, reparation, care, and self-care.”
Debates
Among the topics are violence, political leadership training, higher education, anti-prohibitionism, and sexuality.
One of the roundtables should focus on the concept of macroeconomics of equality. Black women who are pioneers in their fields have been invited.
Among the guests is Carol Santos, founder of Educa +, an organization that helps kids read and write in the Complexo do Chapadão favela, in Rio. She also talks about technological strides often restricted to groups with greater purchasing power and mostly white people—like blockchain, a cutting-edge database system for registering transactions.
In order to build a more relevant ecosystem to society, Santos argued, people must be diverse and include women, black people, and people from marginalized areas. “We’ve been flooded with the buzz around artificial intelligence. What should we do with it? Are we going to remain silent, watching as people develop while we just consume? Or are we going to create products and services and join this construction in a meaningful way?” she questioned.
The festival’s political debate serves as a follow-up to July 25: the 1st Meeting of Afro-Latin-American and Afro-Caribbean Women, held in 1992, and also features music performances and workshops.
“We’re creating a festival where black women are the protagonists. In the spaces of discourse, decision making, curatorship, production, we’re a team of black women. Non-black people are welcome as audience and in building and growing next to us in this anti-racist fight. It’s a black women’s festival for everyone,” she declared.
