A four-day festival wrapped up in Charlotte over the weekend. The Lavagem Festival honors Brazilian indigenous people and the African diaspora through music and dance.
A dance procession made its way from a parking lot onto Shamrock Drive in east Charlotte. Children dressed in white walked alongside women carrying flowers on their heads. Tamara Williams helped organize the festival.
“The Lavagem is a celebration in Brazil where they cleanse the city,” Williams said. "They start at the beginning of the year in all white to cleanse, to bring in good energy.”
Williams started hosting the festival to help unite the community after the COVID-19 pandemic. Dandha Da Hora, who is from Brazil, came from California to celebrate.
“It's important for us to maintain the legacy, even though we are not born and raised here in the United States,” Da Hora said. "But we see the culture of Brazil, Brazilian culture around this place in Charlotte.”
Elaine Smith Holton traveled from Philadelphia to attend. She leads an organization that celebrates carnival culture.
“This is the first time I came to Charlotte,” Holton said. “I think what's so beautiful about all of us who uplift Brazilian culture in the U.S. is that we get to find other people doing similar work — and we get to share and support and uplift each other.”
Performances also took place at the Harvey B. Gantt Center as part of the festival.
