The beat of the Belles "Bay Windows"
by Joe McGauley



The Batucada Belles are an all-women percussion troupe that has performed the Brazilian-inspired batucada samba in the Pride March, the Walk for Hunger, the AIDS Walk and other social justice rallies in the Greater Boston area for 25 years. Bay Windows caught up with some of the women behind the drums (and shakers and bells).

The Belles have endured many reincarnations and members since they were formed in 1982, but their mission remains the same today as it was 25 years ago — to get people moving for social justice causes. Jan, who joined the Belles in 2001 and is now director of the percussive group, says the Belles formed after a few local women returned from a trip to Brazil inspired by the batucada bands that marched to fast-paced beats in the streets.

Norma, who has performed with the Belles since the 80s, remembers her first encounter with the African-influenced Brazilian tradition. “When I first saw [batucada] at a Brazilian festival, I said ‘I’d feel really alive if I learned to do something like that’” she recalls. Expecting to need some drum lessons to keep up with the other women, Norma asked where she could go to learn. Instead, the women invited her to join and said they would teach her. “It’s such a wonderful group of women who were willing to take me in,” she said.

Batucada has many attention-grabbing qualities, and that is why it’s such an effective tool for protest, says Judith, who also joined in 1998.

The community that the Batucada Belles offers for its members may be a reason for the group’s longevity. For many, it is a social outlet that has provided important friends and a reliable support structure. For Norma, being in the Belles has, in her words, been a “miracle.” “I’m going to be 50 in a month and it’s the most positive thing that’s happened to me in my life,” she said. “It filled a huge void creatively and community wide for me.”

Judith says she believes that the “institutional history” of the medium has helped build the community of the Belles, since the music and history is passed on directly from old to new members. She says the connection between past, present and future Belles members is “vibrant.”

“It’s a great experience to drum — it’s empowering,” says Jan. However, musicianship is definitely not a prerequisite for membership in the Belles. Everyone is welcome to join, says Jan, as long as they can commit to practice and learn the parts at scheduled “playshops,” during which members get together to train their ears to various beats and rhythms. “You don’t have to go to Berklee College of Music to be a part of it, you just have to learn and listen,” said Norma. Even for those who may have a musical background, like Judith, who can read music and has played the flute since the fourth grade, learning batucada is much different because of its less rigid structure and repetitive patterns.

Similarly, political motivation is not necessarily needed to join either. “You can be apolitical and still be in the band. We come together for the joy of music and community,” says Norma.

May 3, 2007