Among the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced, it wasn’t until my mid-twenties that I truly began to recognize the beauty in colors—both literal and metaphorical. As 2024 unfolds, Brazilian cinema is experiencing a renaissance. This year marks the second wave of Cinema da Retomada, the movement that reshaped Brazilian filmmaking in the late 1990s and early 2000s. One standout example is Ainda Estou Aqui (Walter Salles, 2024), a box-office hit and critical success since the pandemic. While I haven’t yet seen it in theatres—its British release is set for February 2025—its cultural impact is undeniable, from viral TikTok trends to Erasmo Carlos topping the charts, not to mention the recognition at renowned film festivals. This film embodies the growing power of Brazilian storytelling and cannot be overlooked by this Carioca immigrant who writes to you.
Ainda Estou Aqui has been bursting bubbles that have always existed in Brazil—a country marked by divisions since the start of colonization, with the captaincies, before the diversity of Indigenous nations across the land, and later through its states and regions. It is a country marked by socio-economic divides and political fractures across election periods. The internet gives us a false sense of connection through algorithms and toxic cancel culture, playing a role in creating our cliques. All of this contributes to social divisions, sometimes even between generations. Salles’ movie acts as a bridge in theatres, though it’s worth considering the high ticket prices and the lack of accessibility in some venues, which only reinforce these divisions.
I’m not here to discuss TikTok’s popularity, but it’s worth briefly mentioning how the platform’s edits are giving a young audience access to the rich world of global cinema, addressing the battle between supply and demand, and challenging the dominance of the Anglophone audiovisual industry, which often neglects subtitles. In countries like Brazil, this accessibility is even more significant. It opens doors to their own culture—one that previous generations were careless to preserve—and addresses the impact of the 'mongrel complex.' Coined by Brazilian writer Nelson Rodrigues, he defines the "Mongrel Complex" as the inferiority that Brazilians voluntarily impose on themselves in comparison to the rest of the world. "Brazilians are the backward Narcissus, who spit in their own image. The truth is, we can’t find personal or historical pretexts for self-esteem."
TikTok has been crucial to Ainda Estou Aqui's success among young people, with the latest trend being viral videos of youngsters sharing their families' accounts from the Brazilian Military Dictatorship, set to the sound of “É Preciso Dar um Jeito, Meu Amigo” by Erasmo Carlos.
Despite the denial of its supporters, between 1964 and 1985 saw the rise of a 21-year-long military dictatorship characterized by authoritarianism, human rights abuses, political persecution, exile, and censorship. Amid this tumultuous scenario, there was a cultural boom, with art playing a crucial role in resisting oppression. These reports are breaking the taboo and silence surrounding this atrocious chapter in Brazilian history, which left many victims with physical harm, psychological trauma, social scars, disappearance, torture, and death—some even had their professional lives compromised. This is where Ainda Estou Aqui enters the scene, connecting, validating, and preserving the memories of these victims, while raising awareness among an entirely new generation. Meanwhile, the culprits behind these crimes were never punished.
Last but certainly not least, who is Erasmo Carlos? The King of Brazilian Rock, Tremendão, or Gigante Gentil—however you prefer to call him, he played a significant role for the youth of the military generation during the Jovem Guarda movement, and his legacy continues to be felt within the reintroduction of him to a whole new audience and inspiring emerging talents.
Jovem Guarda drew influences directly from late 1950s and early 1960s rock ’n’ roll, infused with soul music from Motown and rockabilly. Its themes often centred around love and the experiences of teenagers, with some songs being Brazilian adaptations of British and American rock hits. Erasmo Carlos played a role in this movement. It marked the early stages of Brazil's transformative musical journey in rock ’n’ roll, incorporating electric guitar into the songs and his name is behind many musical fusions between rock n’ roll and Brazilian music. It shaped an entire generation in terms of fashion, expression through slang, and musical successors in the decades that followed.
However, it lasted only briefly, until 1968, and its main flaw lies in how it alienated the audience from the horrors of the early military dictatorship. Meanwhile, other popular genres became powerful vehicles for challenging censorship, advocating for political reform, and expressing solidarity with marginalized communities, all while embracing Brazil’s cultural diversity through a foreign-influenced sounds. These genres employed irony, satire, metaphors, and ambiguity in their lyrics to skilfully subvert censorship and address controversial topics, raising awareness among Brazilians of the underlying horrors of the time—a form of veiled resistance.
In 2018, Jair Bolsonaro’s government began, and in 2023, it came to an end—ding dong, the witch is dead. One of his lasting marks on our wounds is his denial of the military dictatorship, his rejection of coronavirus vaccines, his hate and violence toward minorities, and his neglect of our culture, coupled with a lack of incentives. All these factors contributed artistically to the resurgence of Brazilian culture, and Ainda Estou Aqui is one of the fruits of this movement, destined to enjoy its full excellence in due time, February 2025, and celebrated.
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