Hip Hop has become one of the most important cultural movements in Latin America in the last dozen years. It is a powerful technique to get kids back into the rhythm of education: learning how to rap requires learning how to read and write; composing a good rap demands an understanding of politics and history; a good breakdancer can’t be strung out on glue; a great graffiti artist has to learn painting technique and the history of art.
In 2005, we began collaborating with the Brazilian NGO Pé no Chão, the world leader in using “urban arts” with street kids – not just to draw them into a shelter, but to change their lives. The young artists at Pé no Chão don’t just learn these arts: they also perform on stages from Recife – their own city – to Paris and Rome, where they have put on shows at theater and dance festivals.
The project culminates in a DVD curriculum in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, teaching other organizations the knowledge that Pé no Chão has developed over the last dozen years. The project began with a feature length documentary filmed by a “video-research team”, kids who film and edit the DVD. In this way, we integrate research and teaching, changing the lives of the kids as well as those who will learn from their experience.
You can hear the rap album recorded by children and teenagers from the favelas of Santo Amaro and Arruda by clicking below:
