RECOGNITION: Indigenous person from Acre participates in the pre-launch of Alok’s album in the United States

The indigenous and Acre musician Mapu Huni Kuin performed alongside DJ Alok at the Grammy Museum, in Los Angeles, in the United States, on March 25th. The performance was part of the presentation and promotion of the pre-release of the album ‘O Futuro é Ancestral’, which should be released on April 19th, when Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated.

Alok’s work is the first author of his career and is the result of more than 500 hours of recordings between at least 60 indigenous artists from eight ethnicities, including Huni Kuin. At the event, some songs featuring the Huni Kuin, Guarani Kaiowá, Yawanawa, Xakriabá and Guarani Mbyá peoples were presented. On the occasion, Mapu also performed.

On social media, the indigenous leader, musician and spiritual mentor narrated the journey he took since leaving Rio Branco, capital of Acre, to Los Angeles for the presentation. Mapu, who participated in the production of the album, also highlighted the importance of the role of indigenous peoples in this work.

“We arrive with love, with sweetness that people will feel, it will be touched in their hearts. When the wind blows, we see that the leaves are dancing, so our prayer, our song, is to make people vibrate, feel the peace, the love, the joy of living, and from that, see a better future”, he said.

Other presentations

In 2021, indigenous people from Acre, from the Yawanawá and Huni Kui ethnicities, also performed alongside DJ Alok at Global Citizen Live. The performance was broadcast directly from the Amazon and showed the work that the artist has been doing alongside indigenous peoples in recent months.

Global Citizen aims to call on “governments, big companies and philanthropists to work together to defend the planet and overcome poverty, focusing on the most urgent threats”. The idea of ​​the presentation was to show that it is through indigenous songs that you can hear what the forest has to say.

“Seven years ago I was looking for inspiration, so I took a long trip to the Yawanawá village, in the Amazon. Once there, I began to give new meaning to many values ​​in my life, including the way I dealt with nature and music. There, I learned that indigenous songs are ancestral songs of the forest. We live in an urgent moment on the planet with all the climate changes and it is necessary to preserve the forest and the best way to do this is by listening to what it has to say”, said the artist in the clip presented at the festival.

“The Future is Ancestral”

Alok’s interest in indigenous peoples is not new. Before this project, the DJ released a song in 2015 composed of sounds from indigenous rituals. At the time, he spent three days in Aldeia Mutum, in Tarauacá, with the people of the Yawanawá ethnic group.

There were six people from the DJ team to capture the experience in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. According to the artist at the time, the idea of ​​visiting the village came from a company that had already done work in the tribe.

Still from this experience, the artist released, in 2016, the mini-documentary “Yawanawá – A Força”, published on digital platforms. The 21-minute production shows the artist’s encounter with the Yawanawá ethnic group.

Now, the project “The Future is Ancestral” has names like Mapu Huni Kuin, Brô MC’s, Rasu and the Yawanawa group and Owerá MC, who, like the Acrean, also participated in the ceremony.

The objective of the project is to disseminate the importance of music in the worldview of original peoples, in addition to showing the strength of Brazil’s ancestral song and amplifying the voice and ancient wisdom of this population. Alok’s royalties as producer and co-author will also be donated to the artists who participate in this work.

The project is recognized by UNESCO as a relevant contribution to the “International Decade of Indigenous Languages”, a way, according to the organizers, of reaffirming the importance of music for the preservation of original culture.